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V 


Buncombe  County: 

Economic  and  Social 

.4   Laboratory  Study  at  the   University  of  North  Carolina, 

Department  of  Rural  Social  Economics, 

of  the 

BUNCOMBE  COUNTY  CLUB 

A.  :M.  :\I0SER,  Editor-in-Chief 
F.  J.  HERRON  J.  C.  CHEESBOROUGH 

P.S.RANDOLPH  I.E.  MONK 

TUNE,  1923 


Appreciating  the  splendid  work  of  the  Buncombe 
County  students  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  because  of  their  unselfish  desire  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  their  home  county  the  cost  of  publishing  this 
book  is  gladly  borne  by 

THE  CENTRAL  BANK  AND  TRUST  COMPANY 
Asheville,  N.  C. 


\ 


THE    INLAND    PRESS 
ASHEVILLE.   N    C 


# 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword    " 

The  Western  Gateway  to  the  Highlands ._-     S 

A.  M.  Dougherty 

1.  A  Brief  History  of  Buncombe  County 9 

F.  J.  Herron 

2.  Natural  Resources   15 

F.  J.  Herron 

3.  Industries  of  Buncombe  County 25 

I.  E.  Monk 

4.  Facts  About  the  Folks  of  Buncombe  County 35 

John  C.  Cheesborough 

5.  Wealth    and    Taxation 41 

P.  S.  Randolph 

6.  Farm  Conditions  and  Practices  in  Buncombe  County 45 

P.  S.  Randolph 

7.  Rural  Schools  of  Buncombe 55 

A.  M.  Moser 

8.  Home-raised  Food  and  the  Local  Market   Problem 63 

John  C.  Cheesborough 

9.  Livestock    and    Fruits 71 

F.  J.  Herron 

10.  Cooperative   ^Marketing    73 

F.  J.  Herron 

11.  Things  to  Be  Proud  of  in  Buncombe SI 

A.  M.  Moser 

12.  Buncombe's  Problems  and  Their  Solution 87 

A.  I\I.  ^.loser 


"Tl-iz-   r  ■•^-^^^^  ^■^^i^j^,^in...Tifi  ■■ 


^^?sa 


MT.  PISGAH 


FOREWORD 


The  series  of  studies  here  given  to  the  public  under  the  title  Buncombe 
County:  Economic  and  Social,  is  the  work  of  five  students  from  Buncombe 
county  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  These  students  realize  that  in 
order  to  be  the  best  possible  citizens  of  a  community  it  is  necessary  to  know 
the  foundations  upon  which  the  community  rests.  These  Buncombe  boys 
know  in  detail  the  actual  facts  about  their  home  county.  They  are  well 
prepared  to  assume  positions  of  leadership  in  their  county  because  they  know 
in  a  competent  way  the  resources,  possibilities  and  needs  of  the  county. 

These  studies  have  been  prepared  in  the  headquarters  of  the  Rural  Social 
Economics  department  at  the  University,  under  the  supervision  of  Professors 
E.  C.  Branson  and  S.  H.  Hobbs,  Jr.  This  department  possesses  the  best 
library  of  information  about  the  home  state  to  be  found  in  any  state  in  the 
Union.  The  Buncombe  county  boys  have  assembled  from  this  library  the 
facts  about  their  county,  and  have  interpreted  these  facts  in  a  competent 
manner. 

The  publication  of  this  bulletin  has  been  made  possible  by  the  generosity 
of  the  Central  Bank  and  Trust  Company  of  Asheville.  This  institution  is 
anxious  that  the  information  gathered  by  the  Buncombe  county  students  be 
made  available  to  all  the  people  in  the  county.  The  thanks  of  the  authors 
are  extended  to  Messrs.  L.  E.  Gill  and  George  Stephens,  to  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  and  to  all  other  individuals  and  agencies  who  have  aided  in  pre- 
paring and  in  making  possible  the  publication  of  this  bulletin. 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  Buncombe  student  authors,  and  the  bank  which 
bears  the  expense  of  publication,  that  this  bulletin  will  find  its  way  into 
every  home,  school  library,  and  business  house  in  the  county;  into  the  hands 
of  every  teacher,  banker,  merchant,  minister^  lawyer  and  farmer;  and  that 
everj'body  may  receive  in  full  measure  the  service  these  boys  desire  to  render 
their  native  county. 

S.  H.  HOBBS,  JR.,  Associate  Professor, 

Department  Rural  Social  Economics. 
University  of  North  Carolina. 
June  18,  1923. 


"■"™? .  \ 


THE  WESTERN  GATEWAY  TO  THE  HIGHLANDS 


''The  Land  of  the  Sky" 

Will  you  come  to  the  mountains?    "The  Land  of  the  Sky,' 
Where  a  banquet  of  glory  is  spread  for  the  eye, 
Where  scenes  of  enchantment  enravish  the  soul, 
And  reason  to  rapture  surrenders  control ; 

Where  the  mountains  do  rear  their  summits  above 
The  storm  and  the  cloud,  to  the  regions  of  love ; 
Where  vi^aters  go  dashing  down  rocky  declines. 
And  the  hills  are  covered  with  evergreen  vines; 

Where  boasting  musicians  are  wont  to  retire 
When  the  bird  of  the  mountain  tunes  his  sweet  lyre. 
And  lends  to  his  melody  wings  that  can  fly, 
To  scatter  his  song  through  "The  Land  of  the  Sky"; 

Where  fountains  are  gushing  from  every  hill-side. 
All  sparkling  and  cold  as  a  health-giving  tide; 
An  elixir  of  life  more  tempting  to  sip 
Than  the  cup  that  presses  the  bacchanal's  lip; 

Where  the  air  is  freighted  with  sweetest  perfume 
Wafted  from  the  flower  when  full  in  its  bloom. 
And  the  breezes  that  float  o'er  mountain's  tall  peak 
Give  back  the  invalid  the  rose  to  his  cheek. 

Ye  seekers  of  pleasure,  oppressed  by  heat. 
Come  to  this  region    'tis  a  pleasant  retreat; 
Ye  ones  that  are  feeble,  why  linger  and  die, 
Come  up  to  this  beautiful  "Land  of  the  Sky." 

A.  M.  DOUGHERTY. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 


F.  J.  HERRON,  Biltmore 

Buncombe  county  is  located  in  the  heart  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains, 
and  before  the  Revolutionary  War  it  was  a  vast  uninhabited  territory,  a 
neutral  hunting  ground  between  the  Cherokee  and  Catawba  Indians.  Our 
knowledge  of  Buncombe  county  before  the  white  settlers  came  is  just  a 
glimpse  here  and  there  from  the  dark  and  gloomy  past.  There  were  signs  of 
Indian  camps  along  the  Swannanoa  and  French  Broad  river  valleys.  For 
many  years  a  powerful  and  savage  tribe  of  Cherokee  Indians  had  roamed  this 
territory.  The  first  white  men  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  into  this  section  of  the 
county  were  hunters.  As  early  as  1539  Hernando  De  Soto,  a  Spanish  con- 
queror of  Peru,  made  an  attempt  to  discover  another  Peru  in  the  eastern  part 
of  America.  He  made  a  journey  from  Tampa  Bay,  Florida,  up  through  the 
mountains  of  Western  North  Carolina  and  thence  to  the  Southwest,  where  in 
1540  he  discovered  the  Mississippi  river;  and  it  is  very  probable  that  he 
passed  through  Hickory  Nut  Gap  to  the  French  Broad  river.  From  time  to 
time  hunters  were  known  to  cross  the  boundary  line,  then  the  Blue  Ridge, 
and  trespass  upon  the  Cherokee  territory.  In  1776  Gen.  Griffith  Rutherford 
with  a  band  of  men  came  through  this  section  to  drive  the  Indians  westward 
and  take  charge  of  their  possessions.  During  these  visits  the  white  men 
explored  the  fertile  valleys  of  Buncombe.  Soon  after  the  Revolutionary  War 
in  1781  or  1782  the  settlers  from  the  Catawba  river  valleys  and  from  the  block 
house  at  Old  Fort.  ^McDowell  county,  as  it  was  later  named,  began  to  emigrate 
across  the  Blue  Ridge,  which  was  at  that  time  the  boundary  line  between  the 
whites  and  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  build  homes  along  the  Swannanoa  river. 

One  of  the  first  families  to  settle  in  Buncombe  county  was  that  of 
Samuel  Davidson,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  their  small  child,  and 
one  female  negro  slave.  He  chose  a  spot  on  the  Swannanoa  river  a  little 
distance  east  of  Gudger's  ford,  and  near  the  present  Azalea,  a  railroad  station. 
Not  long  afterwards  he  was  killed  by  Indians,  and  his  wife  and  slave  fled  with 
the  small  child  back  across  the  mountains  to  Old  Fort.  A  party  gathered  to 
avenge  the  death  of  Davidson  and  overtook  and  subdued  the  Indians  near  the 
mouth  of  Rock  House  creek.  One  noted  character  in  the  party  was  Major 
Ben  Burgin,  who  died  at  the  age  of  95,  at  Old  Fort,  in  November,  1874. 

Meanwhile  many  other  families  settled  all  up  and  down  the  Swannanoa 
river.  The  homes  first  established  were  near  the  mouth  of  Bee  Tree  creek, 
and  near  there  was  the  land  first  cleared  in  Buncombe  county,  known  as  the 
Edmondson  field.    Later  another  band  of  settlers  crossed  Bull  Gap  and  located 


10  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

on  the  headwaters  of  Reem's  creek,  while  another  group  came  via  what  is  now 
Yancey  county  and  settled  Flat  creek  and  Lower  Reem's  creek.  Some  of  the 
Watauga  settlers  who  had  been  with  Sevier  settled  on  the  French  Broad  river 
above  the  mouth  of  Swannanoa  and  some  on  Hominy  creek,  while  still  others 
from  South  Carolina  settled  further  up  the  French  Broad  river. 

The  Swannanoa  was  at  this  time  known  as  the  dividing  line  between 
Burke  and  Rutherford  counties,  the  former  on  the  north  and  the  latter  on  the 
south.     From  parts  of  these  two  counties  was  formed  the  county  of  Buncombe 
and  named  in  honor  of  Col.  Edward  Buncombe,  a  North  Carolina  soldier 
mortally  wounded  in  the  Revolutionary  War.     In    1791   the  representatives 
from  Burke   and  Rutherford  counties,   David  Vance  from  the   former,   and 
William  Davidson  from  the   latter,    decided  upon  the  formation  of   a  new 
county  from  parts  of  the  above  counties  situated  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  with 
its  western  boundary  extending  to  the  Tennessee  line.     In  April,   1792,  at 
Col.  William  Davidson's  home  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Swannanoa  about 
half  a  mile  above  its  mouth  which  was  known  as  the  Gum  Spring  Place,  the 
county   of   Buncombe   was   organized,    following   the   ratification   of  the   act 
January  17,  1792.     On  December  31st  of  the  following  year  an  amendment 
to  the  aforesaid  act  was  passed  recording  that  "the  commissioners  appointed 
to  fix  the  center  and  agree  where  the  public  buildings  of  the  county  of  Bun- 
combe should  be  erected,  have  failed  to  comply  with  the  above  recited  act  and 
the  inhabitants  of  said  county  much  injured  thereby."     To  remedy  this  a  new 
set  of  commissioners  was  appointed,  Joshua  Inglish,  Archibald  Nill,  James 
Wilson,  Augustin  Shote,  George  Baker,  and  John  Dillard  of  Buncombe,  and 
William  Morrison  of  Burke.    This  committee  differed  greatly  as  to  where  the 
county  seat  should  be  located^  but  finally  decided  upon  the  present  site  and 
gave  it  the  name  of  ^Slorristown.    Before  the  public  buildings  were  completed 
the  nearest  Superior  Court  was  held  at  Alorganton,  and  five  men  were  required 
to  serve  as  jurors  from  Buncombe  county  for  the  July  term  of  1792.    The  fol- 
lowing were  selected:    Wm.  Davidson,  David  Vance,  James -Br  ittain,  Mathew 
Patton,  and  Lambert  Clayton.     The  first  court  house  in  Buncombe  county 
was  built  of  logs  and  stood  on  the  public  square,  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
which  is  now  Patton  Avenue.     The  first  court  started  the  third  Monday  in 
July,  1793.     In  January  three  years  later  a  plan  for  public  buildings  was  laid 
out  by  commissioners,  and  a  tract  of  land  was  secured  for  the  public  square. 
The  county  town  of  Buncombe  then  contained  forty-two  lots,  with  only  two 
streets  crossing  on  the  public  square,  and  it  was  called  Morristown.    "Nobody 
seems  to  know  why  the  name  Morristown  was  bestowed  upon  the  place.    But 
there  is  a  seemingly  authentic  tradition  that  it  was  named  for  Robert  Morris, 
who    successfully    financed    the    American    Revolution,    yet   himself    died    a 
bankrupt."    Robert  INIorris  owned  large  boundaries  of  land  in  Western  North 
Carolina  and  was  a  hero  in  the  Revolution,  therefore  it  is  very  probable  that 
the  town  was  named  in  his  honor.     In  1795  Samuel  Ashe,  a  brother  of  John 
Ashe  who  played  an  important  part  in  opposing  the  Stamp  Act,  was  elected 


BuNco:^[BE  County:   Economic  and  Social  11 

Governor  of  North  Carolina  from  New  Hanover  county,  and  in  his  honor  the 
name  Morristown  was  changed  to  Asheville. 

Early  Settlers 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  came  from  Burke,  Rowan,  and  Rutherford 
counties.  They  were  largely  descendants  of  the  Scotch-Irish.  There  were 
also  a  number  of  English  who  came  over  from  \'riginia,  some  Irish,  some 
French-Huguenots,  and  representatives  of  other  nationalities.  During  the 
16th  century  Protestanism  had  been  growing  in  France  until  about  one-third 
of  the  nation  had  fallen  away  from  the  Catholic  Church.  These  French 
Protestants  belonged  generally  to  the  thrifty,  intellectual  middle  class,  and 
they  became  socially  powerful.  It  was  this  class  of  French-Huguenots  who 
fled  from  political  and  religious  persecution  and  came  to  America  and  in 
particular  to  Buncombe  county.  Among  the  oldest  family  names  are 
Alexander,  Beard,  Davidson,  Edney,  Lownie,  Davis,  Johnson,  Patton,  Smith, 
Swain,  Vance,  Weaver,  Gudger,  and  Henry.  James  Smith  was  the  first  child 
born  of  white  parents  in  Buncombe  county.  Robert  Henry  was  the  first 
schoolmaster  to  teach  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  the  first  preachers  were 
Humphrey  Posey  and  Stephen  INIorgan. 

Geography 

Buncombe  county's  boundary  line,  as  it  is  today,  borders  on  five  other 
extreme  western  counties  of  the  state  including  Henderson,  Haywood,  Yancey, 
Madison,  and  McDowell.  The  county  has  a  bountiful  water  supply  and  is 
well  drained  by  the  French  Broad  river  and  its  tributaries,  flowing  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  through  the  county,  Swannanoa  river.  Cane  creek,  Beaver- 
dam,  Reem's  creek.  Big  Ivy  and  Big  and  Little  Flat  creeks  on  the  northeast 
side,  and  New  Found,  Sandymush,  Hominy,  Turkey  and  Dix  creeks  on  the 
southwest.  These  are  together  capable  of  producing  an  almost  unlimited 
amount  of  water  power.  The  elevation  varies  from  2,000  feet  in  the  French 
Broad  valley  to  6,000  feet  on  the  Pisgah  ridge  on  the  south,  while  Black 
Mountain,  Craggy,  Lane's  Pinnacle,  A'ance  Knob,  and  numerous  other  peaks 
rise  up  on  the  north. 

The  French  Broad  river  valley  was  first  occupied  by  tlie  French,  whence 
its  name.  The  Swannanoa  derives  its  name  from  the  Indian  word  meaning 
beautiful. 

Buncombe  county  is  about  30  miles  long  with  an  average  width  of  24 
miles,  and  has  an  area  of  639  square  miles  or  408,960  acres.  It  has  266,134 
acres  of  land  in  farms. 

Of  the  3,701  farms  in  Buncombe  county  in  1920,  3,608  were  operated  by 
white  farmers  and  93  by  negro  farmers;  and  2,801  farmers  owned  their  farms 
while  only  900  were  tenants. 

The  taxable  property  in  Buncombe  county  is  over  $93,000,000.  The  value 
of  farm  land  in  1920  was  $16,797,977,  an  increase  of  37  percent  in  value  since 
1910.     The  incorporated  towns  of  Buncombe  county  are  Asheville,  Bihmore, 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  13 

Black  ^Mountain,  South  Biltmore,  Jupiter,  Kenihvorth,  and  Weaverville. 
Asheville,  the  largest  city,  is  located  on  the  Asheville  plateau  in  the  Southern 
Appalachians,  said  to  have  been  the  scene  of  an  Indian  battle  between  the 
two  hostile  tribes  of  Catowboas  and  Cherokees.  It  is  2,250  feet  above  sea- 
level,  and  in  the  shadow  of  some  of  the  highest  peaks  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Within  a  radius  of  50  miles  there  are  64  peaks  that  are  6,000 
feet  high,  23  of  which  are  higher  than  Mt.  Washington.  And  these  majestic 
mountains  are  covered  with  magnificent  hardwood  forests.  Silvery  streams 
come  dashing  down  their  slopes  and  the  beautiful  river  valleys  afford  un- 
rivaled scenery  and  inestimable  wealth.  Asheville's  population  in  1920  was 
28,504  according  to  the  census  report,  and  immediately  adjoining  the  cor- 
porate limits  are  Grace,  Norwood,  Woolsey,  Edgemont,  Grove  Park  Inn 
section,  Kenihvorth,  Biltmore,  and  South  Biltmore,  which  brought  the  census 
figures  to  between  38,000  and  40,000.  In  October  of  1921,  Greater  Asheville, 
within  a  circle  of  3H  miles  from  Pack  Square,  which  is  the  business  center 
of  Asheville,  had  a  population  of  50,000.  Asheville  has  five  big  hotels: 
Grove  Park  Inn,  the  finest  and  most  unique  resort  hotel  in  the  world ;  the 
Battery  Park  Hotel,  famous  everywhere;  the  Manor,  an  English  Inn  in 
America ;  the  Langren,  eight-story,  fireproof,  in  the  business  district ;  the 
Swannanoa-Berkeley,  a  high-class  family  and  commercial  hotel ;  and  Margo 
Terrace,  a  select  family  and  tourist  hotel. 

/ 

Climate 

Buncombe  county  we  believe  can  easily  become  the  greatest  health  resort 
in  the  world.  The  mean  average  annual  temperature  in  Asheville  is  55 
degrees.  The  climate  is  dry  and  there  is  never  extreme  heat  nor  cold ;  there 
are  no  mosquitoes  and  no  malaria  here.  There  is  an  18,000-acre  watershed 
that  furnishes  the  city  with  over  7,000,000  gallons  of  pure  water  daily.  It 
flows  through  two  16-inch  pipe  lines,  one  18  miles  in  length  and  the  other 
10  miles.  Owing  to  the  pure  and  healthful  climate  in  Buncombe  county,  the 
Government  has  built  two  U.S.P.H.S.  Hospitals.  Kenihvorth,  located  two 
miles  from  Asheville,  has  500  men,  and  Oteen,  with  over  1,000  men,  36 
medical  officers  and  100  nurses  on  the  Oteen  Staff,  is  the  largest  hospital  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  It  is  located  on  the  Swannanoa  river  near  Azalea,  six 
miles  from  Asheville.  The  Government  has  authorized  the  construction  of  an 
additional  modern  brick  hospital  at  Oteen,  to  cost  $700,000,  and  this  will  be 
a  permanent  hospital  for  ex-service  men. 

Good  Roads  and  Schools 
Buncombe  county  prides  herself  on  being  the  best  paved  county  in  the 
South.  There  are  164  miles  of  hard-surfaced  highways  in  the  county.  Ashe- 
ville has  50  miles  of  paved  streets  and  almost  75  miles  of  paved  sidewalks. 
The  Dixie  Highway,  famous  throughout  the  South,  goes  through  Asheville 
and  Buncombe  County  and  has  been  a  great  attraction  to  tourists  from 
numerous  towns  all  over  the  United  States. 


14  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

The  school  system  in  Buncombe  took  its  origin  in  the  Swannanoa  Settle- 
ment of  1782,  when  Robert  Henry,  the  last  survivor  of  the  battle  of  King's 
Mountain,  conducted  an  Old-Field  school.  This  was  the  first  school  taught 
in  North  Carolina  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  In  those  days  school-houses  were 
very  crudely  built  of  logs,  the  floors  and  seats  were  made  from  split  logs, 
and  the  windows  were  holes  sawed  in  the  wall.  But  a  continual  struggle  has 
been  going  on  to  remove  the  curse  of  illiteracy,  and  today  the  county  has 
14  high  schools  and  68  grammar  grade  schools,  with  an  enrollment  of  10,000 
pupils,  and  11  city  schools  in  Asheville  with  7,000  pupils,  making  a  total  of 
93  schools  with  17,000  pupils  enrolled. 

Asheville  has  one  of  the  best  educational  systems  in  the  South.  The 
Asheville  High  School  alone  cost  $400,000,  and  has  the  largest  student  body 
of  any  institution  of  learning  in  the  state  except  the  University.  According 
to  the  report  of  the  1920  census.  Buncombe  has  the  smallest  percentage  of 
illiterates  of  any  county  in  the  state. 

The  wonderful  system  of  roads  and  schools  in  Buncombe  county  has  been 
made  possible  through  the  untiring  efforts  of  her  wide-awake  citizens.  The 
Board  of  Education,  the  Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Good  Roads 
Association,  Rotary  Club,  Civitan  Club,  Kiwanis  Club,  and  other  organi- 
zations have  been  very  active  in  all  movements  looking  toward  progress,  and 
today  they  are  all  strongly  cooperating,  striving  for  even  greater  progress  in 
the  future. 

Sources  of  Information : 

Arthur's  History  of  Western  North  Carolina. 

The  Asheville  Citizen. 

The  Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

R.  H.  Hutchison's  Historical  Background  of  Buncombe  County. 


,11 
NATURAL  RESOURCES 


F.  J.  HERROX,  Biltmore 

Soils 

The  soils  of  Buncombe  county  are  characteristic  of  practically  all 
Westerq  North  Carolina.  They  have  been  formed  from  the  decay  of  under- 
lying rocks,  which  are  mostly  of  the  Carolina  and  Rowan  gneiss  formation. 
Nearly  all  the  uplands  are  of  a  clay  loam  or  of  a  fine  sandy  loam  fomiation, 
and  have  been  classified  as  belonging  to  the  porter's  series.  The  soils  of  the 
valleys  and  bottom  lands  are  of  loam,  varying  from  silt  loam  or  fine  sandy 
loam  to  clay.    They  belong  to  the  Carolina  and  Toxaway  series. 

The  soils  in  Western  North  Carolina  contain  a  much  greater  abundance 
of  potential  plant  food  than  the  soils  of  other  sections  of  the  state,  and 
Buncombe  county  is  fortunate  in  sharing  in  this  distinction.  The  chief  need 
of  the  soil  in  this  section  is  phosphoric  acid,  a  plant  food  element.  Nitrogen 
is  next  in  importance,  but  can  be  supplied  by  the  many  leguminous  crops 
that  are  capable  of  being  grown  in  this  section,  and  with  the  proper  rotation 
of  crops  this  plant  food  element  may  be  adequately  supplied  to  produce  the 
best  crop  returns  without  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizer. 

The  nature  of  the  rocks  from  which  the  soil  is  formed  renders  it 
practically  unnecessary  to  add  potash  to  the  soils.  But  it  is  necessary  that 
this  natural  supply  of  potash  in  the  soil  should  be  liberated  so  that  it  can 
be  utilized  by  plants.  By  the  aid  of  ordinary  slaked  lime  and  proper  crop 
rotation  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil  will  be  increased  and  the  potash  will 
be  continually  set  free  in  such  quantities  as  are  needed  for  maximum  crop 
production.  Lime  is  found  in  many  deposits  in  Western  North  Carolina,  and 
should  be  used  more  extensively,  since  it  is  not  only  a  vital  force  for  liberating 
phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen,  and  potash  in  the  soil  but  also  a  powerful  aid  in 
neutralizing  the  soil. 

While  practically  all  the  land  in  Buncombe  county  is  either  mountainous 
or  rolling,  erosion  is  much  less  than  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
as  the  porous  nature  of  the  soil  enables  it  to  absorb  rapidly  the  heavy  rainfall. 
The  soils  of  Buncombe  county  readily  promote  a  cropping  system  that 
maintains  and  increases  their  productiveness.  By  a  systematic  crop  rotation, 
the  farmers  in  Buncombe  county  can  avoid  the  cost  of  commercial  fertilizer 
and  yet  have  all  necessary  plant  food  elements  except  phosphoric  acid,  which 
can  be  bought  at  a  comparatively  small  cost.  This  is  an  advantage  to 
farmers  in  Western  North  Carolina  over  other  farming  sections  of  the  state 


16  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

where  crop  rotation  will  not  bring  about  the  desired  effect  without  the  aid 
of  a  large  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  the  form  of  commercial 
fertilizer. 

Location  and  Topography- 
Buncombe  county  is  bounded  by  the  following  counties:    on  the  north 
by  Madison,  the  northeast  by  Yancey,  on  the  east  by  McDowell,  on  the  west 
by  Haywood,  and  on  the  south  by  Henderson. 

Buncombe  is  the  largest  county  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge;  it  is  approxi- 
mately 24  by  30  miles,  with  an  area  of  about  639  square  miles,  or  409,000 
acres.  Its  topography  is  in  the  main  more  open  and  rolling  or  level  than  that 
of  any  other  county  in  the  surrounding  region,  though  several  peaks  rise  to 
the  height  of  over  6,000  feet  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  ai^d  in  the 
southwest  also  the  mountains  attain  considerable  height.  All  the  central 
part,  however,  is  a  rolling  plateau,  known  as  the  Asheville  plateau,  varying 
from  2,000  to  2,500  feet  in  elevation.  This  condition,  with  the  favorable 
markets,  makes  Buncombe  one  of  the  best  agricultural  counties  in  Western 
North  Carolina. 

Buncombe  by  reason  of  its  southern  latitude,  35°  37'  north,  avoids  the 
rigor  of  severe  winters;  and  by  reason  of  its  altitude  of  from  2,000  to  6,000 
feet  above  sea-level  there  is  always  a  moderate  temperature  in  the  summer. 
The  annual  mean  temperature  is  55°.  The  hottest  month  of  the  year,  July, 
has  an  average  temperature  of  71.7°,  while  the  coldest  month,  February,  has 
an  average  mean  temperature  of  38.1°,  and  this  average  varies  little  during 
the  winter  months. 

The  mean  average  rainfall  is  39.63  inches.  The  greatest  annual  rainfall, 
51.8  inches,  was  recorded  in  1918,  and  the  least,  30.17  inches,  in  1904.  The 
average  rainfall  is  greatest  in  July  and  least  in  November. 

The  annual  average  of  snowfall  is  11.2  inches,  6.2  of  this  occurring  in 
the  months  of  January  and  February.  As  a  result  of  the  excellent  natural 
drainage,  there  are  no  traces  of  malaria  to  be  found.  With  the  wonderful 
climatic  conditions,  the  county  seat,  Asheville,  is  known  as  one  of  the  greatest 
health  resorts  in  the  world,  and  annually  receives  300,000  visitors. 

Timber 

Probably  50  percent  of  Buncombe  county  has  been  cleared  for  cultivation 
but  more  than  20  percent  of  this  has  been  abandoned.  There  is  much  forest 
land  yet  to  be  cleared,  however.  Two-thirds  of  the  land  is  held  in  fanns  and 
small  areas  under  1,000  acres  in  extent,  so  that  about  half  of  the  forest  land, 
126,000  acres,  should  be  considered  as  farm  woodlands.  Of  the  remaining 
one-third,  27,000  acres  is  included  in  the  Pisgah  National  Forest,  located  in 
both  the  northeastern  and  the  southwestern  corners  of  the  county.  This 
Forest,  which  extends  into  several  of  the  surrounding  counties,  has  been 
purchased  by  the  Government  and  is  being  managed  as  a  playground  of  the 
people  and  for  the  protection  of  the  streams  and  the  production  of  timber. 
The  office  of  the  Forest  Supervisor  is  in  Asheville. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  17 

The  forests  have  been  cut  over  frequently  and  closely,  so  that  there  is 
very  little  virgin  timber  left.  Practically  the  only  good  timber  is  on  the 
high  and  steep  mountains  in  the  northeast,  and  even  there  most  of  the  large 
poplar  and  walnut  have  been  crudely  culled  out  years  ago.  There  still  remains 
some  smaller  poplar  and  a  considerable  supply  of  oaks,  chiefly  red  and 
chestnut  oaks.  There  is  also  a  limited  amount  of  chestnut  timber,  and  some 
scattered  maple  here  and  there.  The  best  timbered  lands  are  variously 
estimated  at  from  2,000  to  7,000  board  feet  of  marketable  timber  per  acre, 
with  3,000  feet  of  saw  timber  as  a  fair  average.  Throughout  the  remaining 
forested  portions  of  the  county  is  left  a  very  limited  amount  of  saleable  saw 
timber.  A  new  growth,  especially  of  the  different  species  of  pine,  has  come 
in  abundance  on  the  more  severely  cut  over  woods  of  the  rolling  uplands, 
also  on  the  old  fields  that  have  been  abandoned  for  several  years.  Pine  does 
not  flourish  above  an  elevation  of  2,500  feet.  Reproduction  of  the  hard- 
woods, such  as  the  oaks,  chestnut  and  poplar,  is  very  abundant  on  tlie  higher 
and  steeper  slopes,  while  locust  is  found  mostly  on  the  abandoned  cleared  land 
in  the  higher  altitudes  above  the  region  where  pines  flourish.  In  the  flat 
woods,  found  mainly  in  a  gravelly  area  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
county,  young  growth  of  chestnut  is  almost  entirely  absent;  even  the  old  trees 
which  were  once  very  thrifty  in  growth  have  nearly  all  died. 

The  forests  of  Buncombe  have  their  chief  values  to  the  people  in 
supplying  fuel,  posts,  poles,  cross-ties,  shingles,  pulp,  and  acid  wood.  They 
also  protect  and  preserve  a  luxuriant  undergrowth  of  vegetation  that  retains 
the  water  supply  and  prevents  erosion.  While  the  mountainous  regions  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  county  will  continue  to  produce  timber  of  the  more 
valuable  kinds,  the  forests  of  the  central  part  will  be  required  chiefly  to  supply 
the  local  necjds. 

There  is  a  strong  sentiment  against  burning  the  woods,  and  in  some 
sections  such  burning  has  been  successfully  prevented.  In  spite  of  this  there 
have  been  more  than  one  hundred  fires  reported  during  the  past  four  years 
covering  an  average  area  of  about  100  acres  each  with  an  average  damage  of 
S3. 50  per  acre.  ^lany  disastrous  fires  are  caused  by  carelessness  in  spring 
clearing,  and  large  areas  have  been  swept  over  by  fire  whose  traces  cannot  be 
outgrown  for  many,  many  years.  Recently  P>unconibe  has  cooperated  with 
the  state  in  forest  fire  prevention  and  eight  state  forest  wardens  have  been 
appointed  in  different  parts  of  the  county  to  enforce  the  state  laws  against 
burning  the  woods,  and  to  extinguish  forest  fires.  The  productiveness  and 
value  of  Buncombe's  forests  can  be  continually  increased  by  preventing  forest 
fires  entirely  and  by  utilizing  the  inferior  scrubby  timber  for  fuel.  IMuch 
v,-ould  be  gained  by  improving  the  land  that  is  already  cleared  instead  of 
rejecting  the  old  fields  as  worn-out  and  clearing  new  grounds  each  year. 

Asheville  is  the  headquarters  for  a  large  hardwood  business,  but  dealers 
draw  most  of  their  supplies  from  adjoining  counties.  However,  there  are 
many  portable  mills  which  cut  small  amounts  of  timber  here  and  there  over 
the  county,  though  very  few  large  logging  operations  have  been  attempted. 


18  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

There  arc  several  small  wood-working  plants  in  and  around  Asheville,  and 
one  large  tanning  extract  plant. 

Draining-  and  Water  Power 

Buncombe  is  exceptionally  well  watered.  Nearly  every  farm  has  numerous 
springs  and  small  streams,  consequently  there  are  very  few  wells  and  homes 
are  supplied  with  pure  running  spring  water.  This  gives  a  favorable  con- 
dition for  agriculture  and  pasturage.  Yet  considering  the  large  quantity  of 
running  water  and  good  rainfall,  comparatively  little  underground  drainage 
is  necessary.  Targe  quantities  of  the  water  is  carried  off  by  natural  soil 
drainage  as  the  result  of  the  soil's  porosity.  The  French  Broad  river  flows 
through  the  center  of  the  county,  with  its  tributaries,  the  Swannanoa  river. 
Hominy  creek,  Cane,  Sandy  IMush.  Big  Ivy ;  and  many  other  smaller  streams 
drain  the  entire  county. 

The  streams  of  Buncombe  county  are  especially  adapted  to  the  develop- 
ment of  cheap  hydro-electric  power.  Hominy  creek  in  southwest  Buncombe 
has  developed  400  horse-power,  and  .A.sheville  receives  10,000  horse-power 
from  a  hydro-electric  plant  on  the  French  Broad  river. 

Some  of  the  potential  water-power  sources  of  Buncombe  are :  French 
Broad  with  200,000  horse-power.  Ivy  creek  with  2,000  horse-power,  Cane 
creek  2,000,  and  other  branches  of  the  French  Broad  amounting  to  over  6,000 
horse-power.  A  total  development  of  all  the  streams  yet  unharnessed  would 
amount  to  more  than  225,000  horse-power.  Within  a  radius  of  40  miles  of 
Asheville,  the  water-power  of  the  mountain  streams  will  total  approximately 
550,000  horse-power,  of  which  only  a  little  over  42,000  horse-power  has  been 
developed.  There  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  developing  water-power  in 
Buncombe  and  neighboring  counties  to  an  extent  that  would  supply  the 
inhabitants  with  electricity  at  a  remarkably  low  cost. 

Minerals 

Although  Buncombe  does  not  claim  so  great  a  wealth  in  minerals  as  some 
of  her  western  neighbors,  yet  there  are  numerous  rich  deposits  of  useful 
minerals,  including  brown  iron  ore  (brown  hemotite),  chromite,  semi- 
refractory  and  siliceous  clays,  granite,  limestone,  mica,  serpentine,  sand,  and 
gravel. 

Deposits  of  chromite  are  now  under  development  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  county,  16  miles  northwest  of  Asheville,  near  Stocksville  and  Democrat. 
Considerable  sand  chrome  and  rock  ore  has  been  found.  Also  a  promising 
deposit  has  been  found  near  Balsam  Gap. 

From  the  clays  found  in  certain  localities,  fine  pottery  is  manufactured 
and  several  pottery  eitablishments  are  in  operation  over  the  county.  And  for 
fire  brick  and  common  brick,  clays  are  mined  near  Emma  in  the  central  part 
of  the  county  and  at  Candler  in  the  northwestern  part.  Along  the  lines  of 
the  Southern  Railroad  southwest  of  Asheville  large  deposits  of  sedimentary 
clays  are  found.     In  many  of  the  lowlands  along  the  river  valleys  are  broad 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  19 

stretches  of  clay  sub-soil  of  a  good  quality  for  making  ordinary  brick, 
pressed  brick,  drain  tubes,  and  paving  brick.  At  Emma  and  Hilderbrand 
large  quantities  of  brick  are  manufactured  yearly,  usually  to  supply  the 
local  demands. 

Mica  is  a  very  important  mineral  in  Buncombe  and  is  found  at  Balsam 
Gap,  Black  Mountain,  Montreat,  and  along  the  north  fork  of  Swannanoa 
river.  Most  of  the  mica  manufactured  in  Buncombe  comes  from  neighboring 
counties.  The  Asheville  Mica  Company,  located  at  Biltmore,  is  the  largest 
mica  manufacturing  plant  in  the  world.  Limestone  has  been  quarried  very 
extensively  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  where  limestone  appears  in  a 
sufficient  quantity  to  be  of  economic  valuS  as  a  source  of  lime.  In  1906  a 
quarry  was  established  in  Buncombe  that  produced  700  bushels  of  lime 
per  day. 

A  number  of  rock  quarries  are  in  operation  here  and  there,  producing 
crushed  stone  and  gravel  which  is  used  principally  for  building  roads,  concrete 
bridges,  and  other  ballast.  The  rock  ranges  from  pronounced  gneiss  granite 
com.position  to  mica  schist  and  quartz  schist. 

Serpentine  is  found  in  the  western  part  of  the  county  in  disconnected 
outcrops  extending  northwest  to  Alexander  and  Stocksville.  The  stone  has  a 
very  attractive  color  varying  from  a  very  dark  green  to  deep,  clear,  yellowish- 
green.  The  finer  varieties  are  used  for  interior  decorations,  wainscoting, 
bases  of  statues,  and  vases.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  Buncombe 
county  serpentine  should  not  come  on  the  market  as  a  commercial  product  in 
this  era  of  substantial  building  in  the  Southern  States. 

Corrundum  has  been  prospected  in  the  northeast  section,  but  the  results 
have  not  been  very  successful  up  to  the  present  day.  Minute  quantities  of 
nickel  ha,ve  been  observed  in  north  Buncombe,  and  indications  of  gold  along 
Cane  creek. 

In  north  Buncombe  five  miles  west  of  Alexander  pits  have  been  sunk  for 
magnetic  and  chromic  iron  ore.  Although  ore  has  been  dug  from  the  mine 
the  prospects  are  discouraging.  Small  beds  of  limonite  have  been  noted  in 
various  parts  of  the  county,  but  of  insufficient  value  to  prospect  in. 

Buncombe  ranks  very  high  in  the  quaHty  and  value  of  her  sand  and 
gravel.  In  1917  she  produced  543,364  short  tons  valued  at  $23,813.  In  the 
same  year  she  ranked  twenty-sixth  in  the  value  and  production  of  minerals 
which  amounted  to  $47,821.  The  total  value  for  the  entire  state  was 
$5,411,452. 

Fish 

There  is  much  agitation  for  a  fish  hatchery  in  Buncombe,  as  the  con- 
ditions are  very  favorable  to  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  with 
profit.  In  the  year  1919-1920  there  were  33,700  rainbow  trout,  16,500  brook 
trout,  17,300  black  bass,  and  600  rock  bass  set  free  in  the  streams  of  the 
county. 

Among  the  commercial  fish  found  in  Buncombe  waters  are  yellow  cat- 
fish,  white  or  sand   suckers,   red  horse,   horned  dace,   rainbow   trout,   Ohio 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  21 

muskellunge,  commonly  known  as  "Jack."  These  fish  rank  high  as  a  food 
element  and  are  found  in  the  French  Broad,  Swannanoa,  and  several  of  the 
large  tributaries.  And  with  a  large  number  of  rock  bass,  or  red  eye,  small- 
mouthed  black  bass,  wall-eyed  pike,  and  speckled  or  mountain  trout  as  game 
and  food  fish,  Buncombe  offers  a  splendid  opportunity  for  the  development 
of  this  source  of  natural  food  supply  of  the  state.  The  establishment  of  fish 
hatcheries  would  increase  our  food  supply  and  at  the  same  time  the  fishing 
sport  would  be  an  attractive  feature  to  the  tourists. 

Tourists,  Railroads  and  Highways 

The  county  is  served  by  the  Southern  railroad  radiating  from  Asheville 
in  four  directions — north,  south,  east,  and  west.  There  are  28  passenger 
trains  daily  with  through  Pullman  lines  to  principal  cities  of  the  country,  and 
freight  service  of  equal  merit.  The  Asheville  and  East  Tennessee  railroad 
operates  nine  miles  of  interurban  electric  railroad  between  Asheville  and 
Weaverville.  The  Asheville  Power  and  Light  Company  has  22  miles  of 
track  within  the  city. 

The  famous  Dixie  Highway,  the  Appalachian,  the  Central  and  others 
pass  through  Buncombe  county,  and  these  together  with  the  164  miles  of 
hard-surfaced  highways,  with  an  average  width  of  18  feet,  leading  out  from 
Asheville,  and  50  miles  of  paved  streets,  give  Buncombe  claim  as  the  best- 
paved  county  in  the  South. 

The  paving  is  constructed  of  concrete,  asphalt,  or  with  a  concrete  base 
and  asphalt  macadam.  Since  the  construction  of  hard-surfaced  roads  has 
proven  an  economical  investment  the  people  prefer  them  to  any  other  kind; 
consequently  more  are  being  constructed  each  year.  During  the  year  1921-22 
contracts  were  let  for  36  miles  more  of  hard-surfaced  road  which  when  com- 
pleted will  raise  the  total  to  200  miles.  Several  miles  of  old  macadam  roads 
have  been  re-surfaced  and  crowned  with  asphalt.  There  are  several  hundred 
miles  of  country  roads  in  the  county  that  are  constructed  of  sand,  clay,  and 
gravel. 

The  county's  transportation  facilities  are  among  the  best  in  the  state,  yet 
there  is  much  progress  to  be  made  and  many  of  our  citizens  are  engaged  with 
the  problem  of  meeting  the  future  demands  upon  transportation. 

The  average  number  of  tourists  for  the  last  two  or  three  years  has 
ranged  between  250,000  and  300,000.  The  city  of  Asheville  accommodates  a 
large  number  of  these  in  her  five  big  hotels  and  numerous  smaller  hotels  and 
boarding  houses. 

From  a  financial  and  advertising  standpoint  the  tourists  have  greatly 
assisted  in  the  development  of  Asheville  and  other  towns  in  Buncombe  county. 
It  is  to  our  economic  interests  to  make  the  county  and  its  towns  even  more 
attractive  to  the  tourists. 

In  the  language  of  George  H.  Dacy  in  the  Dearborn  Independent  for 
May  12,  1923,  we  read  the  following  concerning  the  Land  of  the  Sky:  "In 
the  heart  of  the  Blue  Ridge  ^Mountains  of  Western  North  Carolina,  where 


22  BuNco:^IBE  County:  Economic  and  Social 

dignified  peaks  tosver  to  the  clouds  placed  like  natural  sentries  on  guard,  is 
'Opportunity's  Empire.'  Such  is  the  name  given  to  the  region  where  the 
sunrise  and  sunset  are  the  most  beautiful  to  be  seen,  where  the  climate  is 
moderately  warm  in  winter  and  deliciously  cool  in  the  summer.  Here,  too, 
is  the  city  of  Asheville,  a  health  resort  whose  fame  has  been  heralded  across  the 
seven  seas.  Health  seekers,  as  a  class,  are  critical  and  difficult  to  satisfy. 
One  indication  that  Asheville  is  out  of  the  ordinary  as  a  health  center  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  more  and  more  newcomers  and  former  visitors  come 
each  season.  The  latest  records  show  that  more  than  300,000  visitors  visit 
Asheville  and  leave  $54,000,000  annually  in  the  city. 

"Asheville  is  a  community  the  majority  of  whose  homes  is  open  to  the 
public.  There  is  probably  no  city  of  the  size  in  the  United  States  that  has 
less  idle  living  accommodations  than  this  southern  center  which,  of  necessity, 
has  had  to  open  all  its  homes  to  accommodate  the  thousands  of  tourists  and 
health-seekers. 

"The  transformation  of  this  sleepy  southern  town  into  a  bustling  business 
headquarters  and  a  vacationists'  rendezvous  is  strikingly  shown  in  figures. 
In  1910  the  total  assessed  value  of  city  property  amounted  to  810,000,000. 
At  present  it  exceeds  that  figure  by  600  percent.  A  decade  or  so  ago  there 
was  not  a  single  mile  of  paved  rural  highway  in  the  sections  adjoining 
Asheville.  Today,  there  are  more  than  164  miles  of  excellent  macadam  and 
concrete  highv\-ays  leading  from  the  center  of  the  city.  In  addition,  there  are 
several  hundred  miles  of  well-maintained  gravel  and  earth  roads  that  link  up 
with  the  network  of  permanent  highways.  Six  years  ago,  the  daily  milk 
supply  of  the  city  aggregated  1,700  gallons  and  was  about  as  poor  and  in- 
sanitary as  could  be  found  in  any  section  of  the  South.  Today,  Asheville 
folk  consume  more  than  6,000  gallons  daily  of  nutritious  and  sanitary 
milk  second  to  none.     .     .     . 

"The  city  also  owns  the  watershed  of  18,000  acres — a  primitive  forest 
imtouched  by  the  hands  of  man — covered  with  a  virgin  growth  of  laurel, 
azalea,  rhododendron,  balsam,  oak,  chestnut,  poplar,  gum,  walnut,  hickory 
and  what  not.  No  human  being  has  ever  lived — or  ever  will  live^above  the 
point  where  the  water  enters  the  pipe  line  at  the  intake.  This  insures  a 
bountiful  supply  of  pure,  clear,  sparkling  water. 

"Although,  it  is  a  land  of  health — a  veritable  magnet  that  draws  to  its 
neighborhood  invalids  who  are  suffering  from  all  forms  of  tuberculosis — 
physicians  of  nation-wide  reputation  report  that  Asheville  is  doing  more  than 
any  other  city  in  the  entire  country  to  control  and  prevent  the  insidious 
spread  of  tuberculosis.  The  city  has  the  most  rigid  legislation  and  regula- 
tions for  the  protection  of  a  pure  milk  supply  of  any  town  in  the  United 
States.  All  these  ordinances  are  rigidly  enforced.  The  city  maintains  a 
modern  abattoir  where  all  its  meat  supply  is  slaughtered  under  Federal 
inspection.  .  .  .  Asheville's  50  miles  of  paved  streets  are  washed  with 
water  under  high  pressure.     Xo  street  sweeping  is  permitted  and  thus  the 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  23 

spread  of  dust  through  the  air  is  minimized.  A  modern  incinerator  is  used 
to  destroy  all  the  rubbish  and  trash. 

"Mount  Mitchell,  top  of  Eastern  America  and  the  highest  point  east  of 
the  Rockies,  is  a  scenic  curiosity. 

"In  1857,  Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell,  a  professor  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  accurately  determined  the  exact  altitude  of  this  mountain — 
6,711  feet — but  in  descending  he  lost  his  way,  fell  over  a  cliff  and  was  killed. 
The  mountain  was  named  after  him  and  today  his  body  rests  on  the  summit 
of  this  peak. 

"A  novel  motor  roadway  leads  to  the  summit.  It  is  a  one-way  route. 
The  long  line  of  cars  go  up  every  morning — the  highway  is  18  miles  in  length 
— and  descend  in  the  afternoon. 

"Practically  every  remote  section  of  the  great  Pisgah  National  Forest  of 
86,000  acres,  a  few  miles  from  Asheville,  is  now  accessible  by  automobile. 
Uncle  Sam  keeps  permanent  highways  through  this  splendid  forest  in  a  fine 
condition.  This  forest  is  developing  into  a  great  playground.  Ideal  sites  for 
campers  have  been  set  aside  and  more  than  10,000  automobile  parties  visited 
the  forest  last  year.  The  forest  has  been  stocked  with  2,500  deer,  75  elks 
and  five  buffaloes,  while  every  mountain  stream  within  its  borders  has  been 
plentifully  stocked  with  rainbow  and  mountain  trout.  No  hunting  is  allowed 
and  no  person  with  a  firearm  or  a  dog  not  under  leash  can  enter. 

"The  forest  is  not  fenced  and  consequently  large  numbers  of  wild  game 
and  overplus  from  the  deer  and  elk  herds  wander  away.  Their  abundance 
has  led  to  the  formation  of  several  extensive  hunting  clubs  in  the  Asheville 
neighborhood.  The  Great  Smoky  Mountain  Club  with  its  22,000  acres 
of  prolific  hunting  lands  is  a  sportsmen's  paradise.  This  property  is  35 
miles  square  and,  save  for  one  gap,  is  circled  by  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains. 
A  hotel  resembling  a  Swiss  chalet  is  now  under  construction,  as  is  a  golf 
course." 

Sources  of  Information : 

Dearborn  Independent   ISIay  12,  1923. 

Files  of  the  Department  of  Rural  Social  Economics,  University  of  North 
Carolina,  -      ■ . 


ITT 

INDUSTRIES  OF  BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 


I.  E.  MONK,  Asheville 

Although  Buncombe  county's  greatest  business  is  in  the  resort  field  j'et 
in  its  fertile  valleys  and  thickly  forested  mountain  slopes  are  gathered  the 
products  that  enter  largely  into  the  manufacture  of  articles  that  find  their 
way  into  thousands  of  homes  from  M'kine  to  California.  In  Asheville,  the 
center  of  this  immensely  favored  region,  are  located  many  factories  and  mills 
that  convert  the  vast  natural  resources  into  finished  articles. 

Agriculture 

Farming  in  Buncombe  county  plays  a  most  important  part  in  our  economic 
life.  It  has  been  amply  demonstrated  through  boys'  and  men's  club  work  that 
all  parts  of  the  county  have  soils  on  which  it  is  possible  to  produce  one 
hundred  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  and  over.  It  was  shown  through  the  pig 
clubs  that  pork  can  be  produced  at  a  cost  of  less  than  eight  cents  a  pound. 

Buncombe  is  one  of  the  nine  largest  beef-producing  counties  in  the 
state.  This  is  because  of  the  mild  winters  that  make  grazing  possible  through- 
out the  entire  year.  The  protection  afforded  by  the  coves  is  sufficient  shelter 
for  the  animals. 

Western- North  Carolina  apples  have  e.xcelled  at  national  apple  shows. 
The  growing  of  apples  in  Buncombe  is  one  industry  that  has  been  sadly 
neglected,  but  now  that  business  men  have  seen  the  natural  advantages  of  this 
region,  the  apple-growing  industry  is  taking  a  new  lease  on  life. 

Asheville  is  the  largest  consumer  of  dairy  products  in  North  Carolina. 
The  larger  part  of  this  supply  of  milk  and  cream  comes  from  within  a 
radius  of  fifteen  miles  of  Asheville.  More  than  600  head  of  Holstein  cattle 
have  been  brought  into  this  district  within  the  last  two  years,  largely  increas- 
ing the  milk  supply  and  eliminating  the  small-producing  scrub  cows. 

There  are  fifty-four  cheese  factories  in  the  South  with  thirty-five  of  them 
in  the  Asheville  district,  showing  the  adaptability  of  this  section  to  the 
production  of  cheese  of  the  highest  quality. 

Sheep  thrive  in  Buncombe  county;  the  high  well-drained  elevations  are 
well  watered  and  produce  abundant  pastures,  making  ideal  conditions  for 
sheep  production.  The  climate  is  especially  adapted  to  the  production  of  the 
finest  wool  and  the  common  sheep  diseases  are  practically  unknown  in  this 
section. 

Poultry  raising  is  profitable  in  Buncombe  county  on  account  of  the 
excellent  climate,  gently  sloping  lands  and  a  good  market.     Asheville,  because 


26  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

of  being  a  tourist  resort  and  because  there  are  several  large  hospitals  nearby, 
is  an  especially  good  market  for  fresh  eggs.  This  is  another  industry  that 
has  witnessed  a  great  development  during  the  last  few  years. 

Furniture 

There  are  two  furniture  factories  in  Buncombe :  The  Carolina  Wood 
Products  Company  and  C.  H.  Reeves  Company.  The  Reeves  Company  manu- 
factures furniture  from  material  furnished  by  others  and  is  much  smallei 
than  the  former  company.  The  Caiolina  Wood  Products  Company,  situated 
at  Woodfin  near  Ashevilie,  has  a  capital  stock  of  nearly  $4,000,000  and  an 
annual  output  of  more  than  $1,800,000.  Furniture  of  all  kinds  is  made  here 
and  the  company  employs  more  than  500  people,  forty  of  whom  are  women. 
Mr.  D.  B.  Morgan  is  the  president  o^the  company.  The  latest  reports  show 
that  the  annual  payroll  is  approximately  $350,000.  We  feel  that  there  is 
plenty  of  room  in  Buncombe  for  more  furniture  factories.  The  wonderful 
forests  in  Buncombe  county  and  vicinity  together  with  the  four  hundred 
thousand  hydro-electric  horse-power  in  the  mountain  streams  within  a 
forty-mile  radius  of  Ashevilie  certainly  are  inducements  for  the  establish- 
ment of  furniture  factories. 

Textiles 

There  is  only  one  knitting  mill  in  Buncombe  county,  the  Ashevilie 
Knitting  ]MiIl.  W.  Y.  Frazer  is  the  president  of  the  company.  It  is  a  very 
young  concern,  having  been  established  in  1918,  but  has  made  rapid  growth 
from  the  beginning.  A  full  line  of  hosiery  is  manufactured  and  all  processes 
are  completed  at  the  Ashevilie  mills.  Their  product  is  knitted,  dyed,  bleached, 
and  finished  for  the  counter.  Their  business  is  growing  rapidly,  and  their 
slogan  is  "A  million-dollar  mill  in  Ashevilie."  The  annual  output  for  1922 
was  $250,000  and  their  payroll  for  the  same  year  approximated  $30,000. 

The  Ashevilie  Cotton  Mills  is  one  of  Asheville's  oldest  manufactories. 
It  was  established  in  1887.  There  are  11,640  spindles  and  450  looms  in  this 
plant  and  colored  cotton  chambrays  are  made.  There  are  approximately 
1,600,000  pounds  of  raw  material  used  annually  by  this  factory.  The  yearly 
output  is  estimated  at  one  million  dollars.  There  are  250  persons  employed 
at  this  plant  and  the  lowest-paid  man  receives  $3.45  per  day.  F.  W.  Cone  is 
the  president  of  the  company. 

The  French  Broad  Manufacturing  Company,  established  in  1911,  is  also 
situated  in  Ashevilie.  The  capital  stock  of  this  company  is  $428,500.  Bed- 
spreads, yarns,  and  kindred  commodities  are  manufactured  here.  The  factory 
has  8,232  spindles  and  132  looms,  and  employs  about  300  persons.  G.  E. 
Huggins  is  the  president  of  the  company. 

Miscellaneous  Industries 

Buncombe  has  many  different  kinds  of  factories,  in  fact  too  varied  for 
classification.  There  are  four  bottling  plants  in  the  city  of  Ashevilie,  the 
Coca-Cola     Company,    the     Chero-Cola    Bottling    Company,    the    Nugrape 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  27 

Bottling  Company,  and  the  Orange  Crush  Bottling  Company.  The  two  latter 
are  comparatively  new  concerns  and  authentic  statistics  are  at  present  not 
available. 

The  Coca-Cola  Bottling  Company  is  the  oldest  bottling  company  in  the 
county.  The  1920  statistics  of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Printing  show 
the  company  as  having  a  capital  stock  of  $78,396  and  the  plant  valued  at 
$82,674.    The  annual  output  for  the  same  year  was  $170,416. 

The  Chero-Cola  Bottling  Company  has  a  capital  stock  of  $75,000  accord- 
ing to  the  latest  statistics  compiled  by  the  Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce 
for  the  year  1922.  The  annual  output  for  the  same  year  was  approximately 
$120,000  and  the  annual  payroll  $20,000. 

The  Georgia  Talc  Company  is  the  largest  manufacturer  of  cut  talc 
pencils  and  crayons  in  the  United  States.  This  concern  has  a  capacity  at  its 
mills  of  two  cars  of  powdered  talc  daily  and  an  average  payroll  of  $2,000  per 
month.  A  flourishing  business  is  done  by  this  company  in  asbestos,  fuller's 
earth,  and  ingot.  The  products  manufactured  at  the  talc  company's  mills  are 
put  to  seventy-five  different  uses. 

The  Asheville  IMica  Company  situated  at  Biltmore  manufactures  mica 
products.  The  capital  stock  of  the  plant  in  1920  was  $235,000  and  the  value 
of  the  plant  was  $206,246.  There  are  about  125  persons  employed  at  present 
at  this  plant  and  the  annual  output  for  1920  was  $365,717. 

One  of  the  largest-selling  cereals  on  the  market  in  America  is  Wheat- 
Hearts.  The  Biltmore  Wheat-Hearts  Company  at  Biltmore  manufactures 
this  famous  cereal. 

Famco  Auto  Body  Polish  is  manufactured  by  the  Frank  A.  >Mears  Com- 
pany. This  is  one  of  the  few  polishes  protected  by  a  guarantee  on  the 
market  today.     It  is  sold  in  every  state  in  the  Union  and  in  Canada. 

The  Williams-Brownell  Planing  Mill  Company  has  been  organized  only 
twelve  years.  It  specializes  in  dressing  and  kiln  drying  in  transit  and  also 
manufactures  hardwood  trim  mostly  for  the  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Pennsylvania  trade.  The  capital  stock  in  1920  was  $120,362  and  the  value 
of  the  output  was  $129,663.  According  to  the  latest  statistics  compiled  by  the 
Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  company  has  an  annual  output  valued 
at  $300,000.  When  their  new  mill  is  completed  they  will  handle  about  a 
million  feet  of  lumber  monthly  and  will  employ  from  fifty  to  sixty  people, 
paying  them  more  than  $4,000  monthly. 

The  Southern  Steel  and  Cement  Company,  Inc.,  manufactures  building 
materials.  D.  S.  Elias  is  the  president  of  the  corporation.  The  capital  stock 
of  the  company  is  $35,000  with  an  annual  output  of  $400,000  and  a  payroll 
of  $16,550  according  to  the  latest  statistics. 

Prominent  among  Buncombe's  industries  is  the  National  Casket  Factory. 
This  factory  has  a  capital  stock  of  $350,000.  It  is,  however,  a  branch  of  the 
main  company,  the  entire  concern  having  a  capital  stock  of  around  $6,000,000. 
The  company  manufactures  dimensions  for  caskets  and  has  an  annual  output 
of  about  8,000,000  feet  of  lumber.    The  annual  payroll  is  about  S100,000. 


28  Buncombe  County  :   Economic  and  Social 

The  Fletcher  Brick  Works,  of  which  J.  P.  Fletcher  is  president,  has  a 
capital  stock  of  $50,000  and  an  annual  payroll  of  about  $25,000. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  best-established  industries  in  Buncombe  county  is 
the  Hans  Rees  Sons  Tannery.  At  this  plant  hides  of  all  kinds  are  tanned. 
The  bark  used  in  producing  the  tannic  acid  is  obtained  largely  from  trees  in 
the  vicinity  of  Asheville.  The  capital  stock  of  this  company  is  about 
$1,000,000  and  the  annual  output  is  $3,200,000.  Harold  B.  Rees  is  the 
president  of  the  company. 

The  Biltmore  Industries  is  one  of  Asheville's  best-known  industries  be- 
cause its  homespun  suits  are  worn  in  all  the  large  cities  in  the  United  States. 
This  industry  was  started  by  the  late  George  W.  Vanderbilt,  who  established 
it  to  afford  profitable  employment  to  the  mountain  folk.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Vanderbilt  the  Industries  were  purchased  by  Fred  L.  Seely,  manager  of 
the  world-famous  Grove  Park  Inn,  and  the  annual  output  has  been  greatly 
increased. 

Opportunities 

Almost  any  kind  of  manufacturing  plant  could  find  a  suitable  location 
in  Buncombe  county.  The  400,000  horse-power  of  undeveloped  hydro-electric 
power  within  a  forty-mile  radius  from  Asheville  (10,000  undeveloped  hydro- 
electric pov/er  in  Pisgah  National  Forest  itself),  the  excellent  paved  roads 
and  Southern  Railway  service  are  inducements  to  almost  any  kind  of  manu- 
facturers. 

Western  North  Carolina  furnishes  an  especially  ideal  location  for  furni- 
ture factories.  Because  of  the  above-mentioned  resources  and  the  fact  that 
there  are  thousands  of  acres  of  fine  timber  land  in  this  section,  furniture 
manufacturing  is  profitable.  Among  the  things  necessary  for  cheap  manu- 
facturing are  efficient  transportation,  the  presence  of  raw  materials  and  an 
abundance  of  good,  cheap  labor.  Buncombe  furnishes  these  things,  and  in 
addition  she  offers  ideal  climatic  conditions. 

The  poultry-raising  industry  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  industries  in 
Buncombe  and  at  the  present  time  the  supply  of  chickens  and  eggs  is  not 
equal  to  the  demand.  This  industry  has  abundant  room  for  development  in 
this  county. 

The  apple-growing  business  is  comparatively  small  considering  our 
wonderful  natural  resources.  When  we  apply  scientific  methods  in  producing 
and  in  marketing  this  fruit  there  is  no  limit  to  the  possibilities  of  this  busi- 
ness. Buncombe  needs  more  manufacturing  plants  of  every  kind,  but  particu- 
larly we  advocate  more  cotton  mills  and  furniture  plants,  because  we  possess 
all  the  requirements  for  economical  production,  labor  of  the  most  desirable 
type,  power,  raw  products  nearby,  transportation,  all  amid  an  unexcelled 
physical  setting  affording  health,  comfort,  and  cheap  living  conditions. 

Following  is  a  list  of  miscellaneous  industries  in  Buncombe  county, 
showing  the  name  of  the  industry,  the  capital,   value  of  the  plant,   annual 


BuNXOMBE  County:   Economic  and  Socl^l  29 

output,  and  the  number  of  persons  employed.  These  statistics  were  compiled 
by  the  State  Department  of  Labor  and  Printing  for  1920.  Many  of  the 
industries  have  made  large  gains  since  that  year. 

Sources  of  Information : 

Report  of  State  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Printing  for  1920. 
Letter  Correspondence  with  ^^lanufacturers. 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Asheville. 


NATIVE  HANDCRAFT  INDUSTRIES 


Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 


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32 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 


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Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 


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34 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 


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IV 


FACTS  ABOUT  THE  FOLKS  OF  BUNCOMBE 
COUNTY 


JOHN  C.  CHEESBOROUGH,  Asheville 

This  chapter  is  based  upon  the  census  reports  of  both  1910  and  1920, 
the  reports  found  in  the  files  of  the  University  News  Letter,  and  other  sources 
of  information.  The  chapter  closes  with  a  table  of  data  and  compares 
Buncombe  county  with  the  state  average,  with  all  the  other  counties,  and  in 
some  cases  with  itself  as  compared  with  conditions  of  other  years. 

Size 

In  size  Buncombe  stands  21st  among  the  counties  of  the  state,  having 
an  area  of  408,960  acres.  Though  Buncombe  is  a  mountain  county,  many 
thousands  of  these  acres  are  bottom  lands  which  are  very  fertile.  With  the 
exception  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  the  fanners  raise  practically  every  crop 
that  is  raised  in  North  Carolina.  ,      •  -,  ^ 

Population 

Ranking  5th  in  a  state  of  one  hundred  counties,  Buncombe  is  easily 
one  of  our  largest  counties  in  population  in  spite  of  being  a  mountain  county. 
This  is  to  a  great  extent  due  to  the  fact  that  about  one-half  of  the  population 
is  concentrated  in  the  towns  of  the  county.  Statistics  in  this  regard  show 
that  Buncombe,  with  a  percentage  of  53,  ranks  9th  in  the  state  in  the  percent 
of  the  total  population  living  in  the  open  country.  This  makes  for  better 
public  education  through  improved  schools  and  better  transportation  facilities, 
all  of  which  should  increase  the  prosperity  of  the  county.  It  is  also  interest- 
ing to  note  that  Buncombe  was  8th  in  the  increase  in  population  from  1910 
to  1920,  with  a  percentage  increase  of  28.8,  as  contrasted  with  the  state 
average  of  15.9  percent.  In  density  of  population,  we  stand  11th  with  53.2 
people  to  the  square  mile.  With  this  comparatively  large  density,  county 
schools  should  be  large  and  well  attended,  roads  should  be  good,  and  every- 
body should  be  in  close  communication  with  his  neighbor.  In  all  other 
respects  concerning  population  Buncombe  is  well  at  the  top,  which  should 
mean  a  great  future  for  the  county  in  a  business  way. 

Race  Ratios 

In  regard  to  race  ratios  Buncombe  is  well  above  the  state  average  in  the 
white  majority  over  negroes,  and  also  stands  fairly  high  in  the  percentage 
increase  of  whites  over  blacks.     This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a 


36    ■  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

mountain  county  and  that  there  are  no  large  farms  or  plantations  which 
employ  a  great  number  of  negro  laborers.  Did  it  not  include  a  city  like 
Asheville,  with  its  negro  population,  Buncombe's  percentage  of  blacks  would 
be  almost  negligible. 

Illiteracy 

As  regards  illiteracy  we  should  be  truly  proud  of  our  position,  for 
Buncombe  leads  the  state  with  an  illiteracy  rate  of  only  6.4  percent.  Illiteracy 
is  one  of  the  fundamental  ills  of  the  South.  Disease,  poverty,  and  crime 
always  go  hand  in  hand  with  illiteracy.  That  we  are  comparatively  free  from 
it  is  a  blessing  that  we  do  not  fully  appreciate.  We  should  endeavor  not 
simply  to  keep  our  county  in  its  present  position,  but  constantly  to  improve 
its  position.  One  of  the  greatest  steps  that  Buncombe  has  ever  taken  against 
illiteracy  was  the  establishment  of  the  "moonlight  schools"  which  today  go 
by  the  name  of  community  schools.  With  the  aid  of  these  schools  and  generous 
gifts  and  appropriations  our  adult  male  and  female  illiteracy  is  fast  dis- 
appearing. These  schools  furnish  a  place  where  men,  women  and  children 
are  able  to  go  after  working  hours  to  learn  to  read,  write,  and  use  elementary 
arithmetic.  The  other  two  factors  which  keep  our  illiteracy  rate  low  are  the 
low  negro  population  and  the  comparatively  large  urban  population.  The 
latter  is  a  natural  and  probably  permanent  asset  of  Buncombe,  but  in  the 
case  of  the  negroes  we  must  be  prepared  for  an  increase  and  be  ready  to 
educate  them  one  and  all.  Where  illiteracy  exists  there  can  be  no  great 
prosperity.  We  mvist,  therefore,  watch  this  matter  carefully  and  endeavor 
to  stamp  out  entirely  whatever  conditions  make  for  illiteracy  within  our 
borders. 

Birth  Rate 

The  birth  rate  of  Buncombe  is  32.3  per  thousand  inhabitants.  This  is 
very  satisfactory  when  we  consider  that  our  county  is  44th  in  a  state  which 
leads  the  entire  Union  in  birth  rate  and  in  baby  carriages.  The  rank  of  44th 
does  not  sound  very  high,  but  there  are  many  counties  which  lead  Buncombe 
by  only  a  very  small  fraction.  The  leading  county,  Yancey,  has  a  rate  of 
45  births  per  thousand  inhabitants,  which  is  only  thirteen  more  per  thousand 
than  Buncombe. 

Death  Rate 

The  death  date  is  only  fair  since  it  is  not  quite  one  less  than  the  state 
average  of  13.2  deaths  per  thousand  people.  If  at  first  this  seems  difficult  to 
understand  in  a  healthful  climate  like  ours,  we  must  realize  that  Asheville, 
as  well  as  other  towns  in  the  county,  is  a  health  resort  and  many  sick  people 
come  to  our  county,  often  not  for  a  temporary  stay  but  to  make  it  their 
permanent  home.  Many  of  these  are  tubercular  and  never  recover,  though 
there  is  no  better  or  healthier  climate  than  that  of  Buncombe. 

Divorce  Rate 
The  divorce  rate  is  high  in  Buncombe  and  it  does  not  seem  that  there 
is  any  excuse  for  the  present  rate  of  80.7  per  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  37 

However,  the  divorce  laws  are  state  laws  and  the  county  is  not  to  blame  for 
them.  Our  large  resorts  filled  with  transient  people  are  mainly  responsible 
for  our  high  divorce  rate. 

Homicides 
In  the  homicide  rate,  Buncombe  is  again  above  the  state  average.  North 
Carolina  leads  the  nation  in  homicides  and  yet  Buncombe  has  a  higher  rate 
than  the  state  average,  which  is  a  most  deplorable  condition.  It  is  true  that 
the  size  of  the  population  and  its  high  urban  ratio  is  largely  responsible,  but 
certainly  this  state  of  affairs  can  be  remedied  somewhat,  if  not  entirely  wiped 
out.    Our  disputes  should  be  settled  by  just  courts  and  not  by  madness. 

Church  Membership 

Buncombe  county  stands  33rd  in  church  membership  with  48  out  of  every 
hundred  people  enrolled  in  some  church.  The  state  average  is  only  45  and  it 
is  far  too  low.  There  is  much  room  for  improvement  in  this  important 
matter,  although  conditions  in  Buncombe  favor  a  high  ratio  of  church  mem- 
bership. We  have  few  farm  tenants  and  the  lowest  illiteracy  rate  in  the 
state,  while  nearly  our  entire  population  is  white.  Being  practically  free  from 
the  three  conditions  that  retard  progress,  one  would  expect  Buncombe  to  lead 
the  state  in  the  ratio  of  people  belonging  to  churches. 

Conclusion 

By  way  of  summary  it  seems  safe  to  say  that  Buncombe  county,  with  its 
comparative  freedom  from  social  and  economic  evils,  and  with  its  ideal 
climate  and  situation,  has  a  great  and  prosperous  future.  Though  there  will 
probably  never  be  a  great  city  in  the  county  because  of  the  absence  of  large- 
scale  manufacturing,  nevertheless,  Asheville,  the  metropolis,  and  our  many 
small  towns  offer  every  inducement  to  outsiders  whether  they  come  for 
business  or  pleasure,  and  it  is  certain  that  once  a  person  settles  in  this  part 
of  North  Carolina  he  rarely  ever  leaves  it. 

Facts  About  the  Folks  in  Buncombe  County 

21st    in     Size,  acres 408,960 

5th  in     Population,    1920   64,148 

^lecklenburg  leads  with  80,695  people. 

8th  in     Increase  in  population,  1910-1920,  percent 28.8 

Forsyth  led  with  a  gain  of  63.3  percent.  State  average 
was  15.9  percent.  Sixteen  counties,  mainly  in  the  Tide- 
water and  [Mountain  areas,  lost  population. 

51st    in     Townships  losing  population,  1910-1920,  percent 28.6 

Four  townships  lost  population.  State  average  32  per- 
cent of  the  townships  lost  population. 


38  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

9th  in     Population  living  in  the  open  country,  percent ■ 53 

In  New  Hanover  only  16.8  percent  live  in  the  open 
country.  In  three  counties,  Yancey,  Gates,  and  Curri- 
tuck, there  are  no  incorporated  towns.  State  average, 
71.4  percent  in  country. 

11th  in     Density  of  population,  number  of  people  per  square  mile 53.2 

In  Forsyth  the  rural  population  density  is  73.5  per 
square  mile.  In  Tyrrell  the  rural  population  density  is 
only  10.6  per  square  mile.  State  average,  37.3  people 
per  square  mile. 

34th  in     Race  ratios — Percent   white    83.7 

Percent  negro 15.6 

In  Mitchell  county  99.5  percent  are  white.  In  Warren 
the  percentage  of  whites  is  only  35.6.  State  average  is 
69.75  percent  white. 

64th  in     Increasing  white  ratios,    1910-1920,  percent  gain  in   favor 

of  whites 0.7 

Vance  had  a  white  ratio  gain  of  6.9  percent.  Scotland 
had  a  white  ratio  decrease  of  5.5  percent.  State  average 
ratio  gain  of  whites  over  negroes,  1.7  percent. 

1st    in     Illiteracy  above  ten  years  of  age,  percent 6.4 

Buncombe  ranks  best  in  North  Carolina.  Edgecombe 
leads  in  illiteracy  with  22.4  percent.  State  average  in 
1920,  13.1  percent. 

7th  in     Native  white  illiterates,  percent 4.8 

New  Hanover  comes  first  with  only  1.8  percent  illiterate. 
Wilkes  has  17.1  percent  illiterate.  State  average,  8.2 
percent. 

2nd  in     Negro  illiteracy,  ten  years  of  age  and  over,  percent 15.5 

Pamlico  leads  with  only  11.3  percent  illiterate.  Xegro 
illiteracy  highest  in  Mitchell  with  42.2  percent  illiterate. 
State  average,  24.5  percent. 

8th  in     Adult  white  male  illiteracy,  percent 6.6 

In  1910,  of  all  white  males  above  21  years  of  age  10.1 
percent  were  illiterate.  The  ten-year  decrease  has  been 
3.7  percent.  New  Hanover  has  only  1.7  percent  adult 
white  male  illiteracy.  Wilkes  has  20.8  percent.  State 
average,  10.9  percent. 

9th  in     Illiterate  white  women,  21  years  of  age  and  over,  percent —  5.9 

New  Hanover  ranks  best,  with  3.1  percent  of  such 
illiteracy.  Wilkes  comes  last  with  25.3  percent  illiterate. 
State  average,  10.4  percent. 


40  •  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

44th  in     Births,  rate  per  1,000  population 32.3 

Yancey  stands  first  with  45  per  1,000  population. 
Currituck  stands  lowest  with  19.2  per  1,000  population. 
State  average,  31.3.  The  state  leads  the  Union  in 
birth  rate. 

47th  in     Deaths,  rate  per  1,000  inhabitants 12.5 

Cherokee  stands  first  with  only  6.7  per  1,000  population. 
Wayne  stands  lowest  with  20.6  per  1,000.  State  average, 
13.2  deaths  per  1,000  people. 

78th  in     Divorces,  1916,  rate  per  100,000  inhabitants 80.7 

Alexander  had  no  divorces.  Transylvania  had  a  rate  of 
119.2  per  100,000  people.  State  average  rate,  31  per 
100,000. 

67th  in     Homicides,  1913-1914,  rate  per  million  inhabitants 115 

Hyde  stands  best,  with  none.  Robeson  leads  in  homi- 
cides with  rate  of  408  per  million  inhabitants.  State 
average,  95. 

33rd  in     Church  membership  in  1916,  percent  of  total  population 48 

Bertie  leads  with  74  percent.  Edgecombe  is  lowest  with 
only  23  percent.     State  average,  45  percent. 

Sources  of  Information:  ji- 

U.  S.  Census  Reports.  ,  '     '■/ 

N.  C.  Health  Reports. 
Department    of    Rural    Social    Economics    Files,    University    of    North 

Carolina. 


V 
WEALTH  AND  TAXATION 


p.  S.  RANDOLPH,  Asheville 

Total  Taxable  Wealth  in  1921 

In  1921  the  total  taxable  wealth  of  Buncombe  county  was  $92,550,421. 
There  was  a  gain  of  $6,250,000  in  taxable  wealth  over  the  preceding  year. 
There  were  only  five  other  counties  in  the  state  that  reported  a  gain.  While 
the  other  counties  were  effecting  large  reductions  from  the  Revaluation  figures, 
Buncombe  was  adding  to  the  values  on  her  tax  books.  We  were  willing  to 
subscribe  to  the  principle  that  a  low  rate  on  true  values  is  more  equitable 
than  a  high  rate  on  false  values.  Forty-three  counties  have  lower  tax  rates, 
not  because  they  have  a  larger  percent  of  their  true  values  on  the  tax  books, 
but  because  they  are  not  willing  to  convert  their  wealth  into  common  weal. 
For  instance.  Buncombe  leads  the  entire  state  in  total  school  expenditures. 

Buncombe  stood  21st  in  white  per  capita  taxable  wealth  during  1921,  with 
an  average  of  $1,689.  We  were  well  over  the  state  average  of  $1,009.  Scot- 
land county  led  the  entire  state  with  $3,423,  largely  because  Scotland  is  a 
land  of  few  whites  and  many  negroes,  the  whites  owning  the  bulk  of  the  land, 
the  negroes  largely  tenants. 

The  building  of  hard-surfaced  roads  over  the  entire  county  and  the 
spread  of  cooperative  movements  will  gradually  force  us  up  among  the  leaders 
of  the  state.  Our  present  rank  is  due  to  the  large  percent  of  farms  operated 
by  owners.  We  are  not  now,  nor  will  we  ever  be,  a  land  of  tenants.  The 
most  wholesome  social  and  economic  conditions  can  exist  where  the  masses 
own  the  land  they  till. 

Other  Tax  Values 

The  tax  value  of  farm  land  in  Buncombe  is  $45.00  per  acre.  This  is  not 
very  high,  but  only  27  counties  rank  better  and  they  are  the  counties  with 
high-priced  cotton  and  tobacco  land  in  the  coastal  plain  belt.  Large  areas 
of  land  in  Buncombe  are  too  rough  for  any  sort  of  cultivation,  and  this  helps 
to  bring  our  land  values  down. 

In  1919  we  paid  into  the  State  Treasury  in  income  taxes  S12,256,  and 
only  three  counties  paid  more.  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  report  is  for 
the  year  of  inflated  prices  on  cotton  and  tobacco,  and  when  areas  producing 
these  crops  were  in  the  best  financial  condition  in  their  history.  Probably 
today  Buncombe  would  rank  even  better,  since  she  has  not  witnessed  hard 
times  and  deflation  to  the  extent  of  cash-crop  counties. 


42  BuxcoMBE  County:   Economic  and  Social 

School  Expenditures 

Here  is  just  cause  for  our  feeling  proud  in  a  small  degree.  We  ranked 
first  in  total  school  expenditures  in  1919-20.  We  spent  $623,041  on  schools 
in  that  year,  but  a  large  proportion  of  this  went  to  the  Asheville  schools  and 
not  to  our  county  institutions. 

We  had,  in  the  same  year,  an  average  investment  in  school  property  of 
$22  per  inhabitant,  while  Transylvania  averaged  $24  per  inhabitant — only 
two  dollars'  difference,  and  both  of  them  mountain  counties  leading  the 
entire  state.  But  this  is  not  true  of  other  mountain  counties,  for  in  school 
matters  they  trail  the  counties  of  North  Carolina. 

Investment  in  Motor  Cars 

There  are  only  21  counties  ranking  above  us  in  investment  in  motor 
cars  per  inhabitant.  Our  average  in  1923  is  $64.50,  which  is  very  high 
for  a  mountain  county,  and  our  rank  is  due  to  our  ability  to  buy  cars  and  to 
our  splendid  hard-surfaced  highways.  This  includes  business  vehicles  as 
well  as  pleasure  cars.  Buncombe  has  one  motor  car  for  every  12.4  people 
and  only  20  counties  rank  ahead  of  us  in  this  particular. 

Wealth 

Farm  property  in  1919  was  valued  at  $19,233,583,  and  only  16  counties 
ranked  ahead  of  Buncombe.  We  led  by  far  all  other  mountain  counties.  Of 
the  total,  $12,992,681  represented  land  values,  $3,865,196  were  invested  in 
buildings,  $530,592  invested  in  implements,  and  $1,905,114  in  livestock. 

With  this  enormous  amount  of  wealth  we  produced  $4,492,214  worth  of 
agricultural  products.  All  crops,  produced  amounted  to  $2,825,739  and  the 
remainder  was  produced  by  livestock  and  its  products. 

We  ranked  59th  in  the  production  of  crop  wealth  with  $2,825,739  worth 
of  crops.  Robeson,  a  great  cotton-producing  county,  led  the  entire  state  with 
$23,000,000  worth  of  crop  wealth.  It  is  a  decided  disadvantage  to  produce 
such  a  large  amount  of  cash-crop  wealth,  non-food  crops,  and  pay  little 
attention  to  food,  feed,  livestock,  and  livestock  industries.  About  98  percent 
of  our  crop  wealth  is  produced  by  food  and  feed  crops  which  makes  our  rank 
in  this  matter  appear  low.  In  Robeson  the  other  extreme  is  approached. 
Another  reason  for  our  seemingly  low  rank  is  the  fact  that  three  out  of  every 
four  of  our  farmers  are  home  owners.  Non-food  crops  are  tenant  crops  and 
in  areas  of  excessive  crop  production  we  may  be  sure  to  find  excessive  tenancy, 
excessive  illiteracy,  ill-balanced  diet,  and  small  accumulated  wealth. 

Production  of  Farm  Wealth 
An  average  per  farm  production  of  farm  wealth  of  $1,217  and  the  low 
rank  of  77th  are  facts  which  should  occupy  the  minds  of  thoughtful  persons 
for  some  time.  An  average  family  in  North  Carolina  consists  of  five  persons. 
The  above  shows  an  average  production  of  66^4  cents  a  day  per  person.  Out 
of  this  must   come   all   family   food,   feed,   clothing,   taxes,   and  other   living 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  43 

expenses.  Such  conditions  cannot  help  but  be  exceedingly  hard  on  the 
average  farmer  in  the  county.  Scotland,  a  cotton-producing  county,  produced 
$5,022  worth  of  farm  wealth  per  farm,  but  her  farmers  are  not  relatively 
better  off  than  Buncombe  farmers  because  Scotland  spends  enormous  amounts 
for  fertilizers  and  for  food  supplies  bought  from  time  merchants  at  high 
prices  and  high  interest  rates.  While  our  production  totals  are  not  so  high, 
neither  are  our  living  expenses;  for  our  farmers  feed  themselves  first  and 
foremost.  If  we  would  produce  all  the  food  supplies  needed  in  x\sheville  our 
production  would  be  larger.  Per  capita  country  wealth  in  1920  was  $565  for 
Buncombe  against  the  state  average  of  $684,  while  Iowa's  state  average  was 
$8,113.  Such  a  comparison  shows  plainly  enough  the  difference  between 
agriculture  as  practiced  in  Buncombe  and  in  Iowa.  We  produce  and  sell  the 
raw  product  in  an  unorganized  market.  Iowa  produces  the  raw  product, 
manufactures  it,  and  sells  the  finished  article  through  cooperative  enterprise. 

We  might  easily  raise  far  more  produce  in  Buncombe  than  we  do  at 
present.  If  the  farmers  had  a  market  for  their  surplus  produce  they  would 
grow  more  of  it  and  would  grow  the  best  quality,  but  until  the  farmers  and 
townspeople  get  together  to  solve  the  local  market  problem,  our  supplies  will 
come  from  other  states  and  both  Asheville  and  Buncombe  will  suffer  together. 

Our  greatest  problems  are  (1)  the  selection  of  a  system  of  agriculture 
that  is  suited  to  Buncombe  county,  and  (2)  the  perfection  of  cooperative 
enterprises  in  all  lines  of  agriculture.  When  these  problems  are  solved  we 
shall  take  our  place  among  the  leading  wealth-producing  and  wealth-retaining 
counties  of  the  state. 

4th  in     Total  taxable  wealth  in  1921 $92,550,421 

1920  taxable    wealth    was    $86,246,280.      Only    six 
counties  in  the  state  reported  more  taxable  wealth  in 

1921  than    1920.     The   taxable   wealth   for    1923    is 
reported  to  be  $110,301,836. 

21st    in     White  per  capita  taxable  wealth  in  1921 $1,689 

Scotland  led  with  $3,423.     State  average  was  $1,009. 
2nd  in     Investment  in  schools  in  1920,  per  inhabitant $22 

Transylvania  led  with  $24  worth  of  school  property 

per  person. 

4th  in     State  income  tax  paid  in  1920 $33,446 

50th  in     Total  production  of  agricultural  wealth  in  1919 $4,492,214 

77th  in     Average  production  of  agricultural  wealth  per  farm $1,217 

Scotland  was  first  with  $5,022.     The  state  average 

was  $2,104. 
59th  in     Total  production  of  crop  wealth  in  1919 82,825,739 

Robeson  led  with  $23,955,950. 
17th  in     Census  value  of  all  farm  property,  1919 $19,233,583 

Land  worth   $12,992,681;     buildings   worth  $3,805,- 

196;     implements,    $530,592;     livestock,    $1,905,114. 


44  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

60th  in     Per  capita  country  wealth  in  1920 $565 

Wayne,  $7,497;   state  average,  $684;   Iowa,  $8,113. 
1st    in     Total  school  expenditures,  1919-20 $623,041 

44th  in     Tax  rate  per  $100  worth  of  taxable  property,  1921 $0,84 

Alleghany  lowest  with  $0.41 ;  Caswell  highest  with 
$1.61. 

21st    in     Motor  cars,  inhabitants  per  automobile,  1923 12.4 

In  January,  1922,  Buncombe  had  5,557  motor  cars 
and  only  four  counties  had  more. 

21st    in     Investment  in  motor  cars  per  inhabitant,  1923 $64.5 

Guilford,  $100.8.    State  average,  $56.5. 

20th  in     Bank  savings  per  inhabitant,  1922 $33.70 

Includes  all  savings  deposits  in  state  banks  and  time 
deposits  in  National  banks.  New  Hanover,  $152.9; 
state  average,  $31.3.  Total  savings  deposits  in  Bun- 
combe, $2,161,971. 

12th  in     Tax  burden  per  inhabitant,  1920 1___  $10.15 

Wilson  first,  $16.27.     State  average,  $8.62. 

25th  in     School  tax  per  inhabitant,  1920-21 $4.67 

Wilson,  $12.89.    State  average,  $4.32. 

20th  in     Per  capita  tax  for  county  purposes,  1920 $4.60 

McDowell,  $6.60.    State  average,  $3.77. 

9th  in     Value  of  personal  property  per  person,  1921 $269 

Durham,    $1,480.      State    average,    $252.      Includes 
everything  listed  for  taxation   by   individuals  exclu- 
sive of  real  estate. 
3rd  in     Surplus  paid  into  the  state  treasury  in  excess  of  school 

and  pension  funds  received  from  the  state  in  1918        $62,140 
Thirty-three  counties,  mainly  in  the  mountain  area, 
received  more  than  they  paid  into  the  state  treasury. 

Sources  of  Information : 

U.  S.  Census  Reports. 
N.  C.  State  Department  Official  Reports. 

Department     Rural     Social     Economics     Files,     University     of     North 
Carolina. 


VT 


FARM  CONDITIONS  AND  PRACTICES  IN 
BUNCOMBE  COUNTY 


p.  S.  RANDOLPH,  Asheville 

Explanation  of  Study- 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  eive  an  accurate  report  of  the  farm 
conditions  and  practices  in  Buncombe  county,  and  to  offer  suggestions  that 
will  help  in  bringing  about  better  conditions,  social  and  economic,  in  the 
country  regions.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  crop  culti- 
vation, planting,  etc.,  but  rather  to  discuss  what  would  constitute  a  profitable 
system  well  suited  to  the  character  of  our  land  and  climate  and  to  the  available 
capital,  labor,  and  marketing  opportunity. 

This  paper  is  based  on  a  study  of  the  facts  as  given  in  the  Fourteenth 
Census  of  the  United  States  for  1920  and  in  other  official  reports  in  the 
Rural  Social  Economics  Department  of  the  University. 

The  table  at  the  close  of  this  article  ranks  Buncombe  with  the  one 
hundred  counties  of  the  state,  and  shows  her  standing  against  the  state 
average,  and  whether  or  not  we  are  making  progress. 

Area 

The  total  area  of  Buncombe  county  is  408,960  acres.  Of  this  total  there 
are  266,134  acres,  or  65  percent,  in  farms  and  129,467  acres  under  cultivation. 
With  less  than  one-third  the  area  under  cultivation  there  is  great  room  for 
agricultural  expansion. 

A  large  part  of  the  county  is  too  rough  for  crop  production,  and  neces- 
sarily must  be  used  for  pasture  if  we  are  to  receive  any  returns  from  it. 

Our  rank  in  area  is  twentieth,  and  in  the  number  of  farms  we  are  twenty- 
third  with  3,701.  The  explanation  of  our  rank  here  is  that  a  large  percent  of 
the  farmers  in  Buncombe  are  home  owners  and  cultivate  larger  farms  than 
prevail  in  tenant  areas.  In  the  cotton  and  tobacco  sections  one  land  owner 
may  have  several  tenants,  and  each  tract  of  land  counts  as  a  farm.  As  a 
cosequence  of  this  method  of  census  taking,  all  counties  ranking  high  in  home 
ownership  are  low  in  the  number  of  farms. 

Decrease  in  Farms,  1910-1920 

During  the  ten-year  period,  1910-20,  we  decreased  5.8  percent  in  the 
number  of  farms  in  the  county.  In  the  same  period,  tenancy  decreased  19.3 
percent.     This  comparison  would  indicate  that  the  loss  was  due  to  the  moving 


46  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

away  of  tenants  and  not  home  owners.  Many  farm  tenants  moved  into 
Asheville  or  down  into  the  cotton  mill  towns  farther  east. 

The  cause  for  our  loss  in  farms,  however,  was  the  extreme  hardship  in 
the  years  immediately  following  the  war.  Farming  was  very  unprofitable 
and  also  during  the  war  industrial  labor  was  at  a  premium  and  high  wages 
were  paid. 

Following  the  war  the  value  of  farm  produce  dropped  about  60  percent 
and  fertilizers,  seeds,  implements,  and  the  necessities  of  life  remained  high. 
It  was  almost  impossible  for  a  farmer,  and  especially  a  farm  tenant,  to  make 
a  decent  living.  He  worked  and  produced  just  the  same  as  in  the  time  of 
inflation  but  the  crops  were  not  returning  enough  money  to  buy  the  bare 
necessities  for  his  family.  Under  such  conditions  a  great  many  moved  into 
towns  and  mill  villages  for  industrial  work. 

The  poor  educational  advantages  offered  in  some  of  our  rural  districts, 
also,  have  contributed  to  bring  about  a  decrease  in  farms.  Some  families  have 
deserted  the  farm  in  order  that  the  children  might  receive  the  benefits  of 
better  schools.  In  some  parts  of  the  county  the  people  are  overcoming  this 
handicap  by  providing  consolidated  schools.  School  problems,  however,  are 
being  discussed  in  another  chapter,  so  we  shall  not  go  into  them  further  here. 

•  Farm  Ownership 

The  fact  that  74.7  percent  of  all  farmers  in  Buncombe  county  are  farm 
owners  is  one  that  we  may  well  be  proud  of.  There  are  twenty-two  counties 
with  a  larger  percent  of  owners  but  they  are  also  in  the  mountain  area.  This 
condition  is  due  to  our  type  of  agriculture.  Our  crops,  food,  feed,  and  live- 
stock, are  not  well  suited  to  tenancy.  The  tenant  is  after  a  crop  that  has  a 
ready  cash  value ;  he  does  not  go  into  food  and  feed  production,  and  for  this 
reason  he  tends  to  remain  a  tenant. 

In  Buncombe,  and  the  other  mountain  counties  as  well,  the  farmers 
generally  produce  enough  food  and  feed  for  home  consumption  first,  and 
then  market  the  balance.  As  a  result  three  out  of  every  four  farmers  are 
home  owners;  while  in  Scotland  county,  where  cash  crops  are  produced  and 
little  food  or  feed,  only  one  out  of  every  five  farmers  owns  the  farm  he 
cultivates. 

Decrease  in  Negro  Farmers 

Between  1910  and  1920  negro  farmers  decreased  48.3  percent  in  Bun- 
combe. Thirty-six  other  hill  and  mountain  counties  lost  negro  farmers,  while 
all  those  of  the  east,  where  cotton  and  tobacco  are  produced  under  a  tenancy 
system,  gained  negro  farmers. 

The  decrease  in  Buncombe  was  largely  due  to  the  unsuitableness  of  our 
crops  to  farming  by  negroes.  Negroes  generally  are  not  intelligent  enough 
to  compete  with  home  owners  operating  their  farms  on  a  livestock  basis. 
Also,  during  the  period  of  high  cotton  and  tobacco  prices  some  negroes  left 
the  mountains  for  the  cash-crop  area. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  47 

The  entire  mountain  area  is  a  white  man's  country  and  negroes  as  a  rule 
are  not  very  successful  here. 

Farm  Wealth  Increase 

Our  rank  in  farm  wealth  increase  was  ninetieth  with  a  percent  of  40.9. 
This  low  rank  and  also  low  percent  are  not  as  bad  as  they  appear.  Some 
counties  in  the  cotton  and  tobacco  areas  had  enormous  increases;  Pitt,  Greene, 
and  Nash  were  the  three  highest  with  increases  of  about  300  percent.  How- 
ever, the  unusually  high  prices  paid  for  their  crops  were  the  cause  for  their 
high  rate  of  increase,  and  when  the  prices  broke  on  cotton  and  tobacco  they 
were  financially  ruined.  But  in  Buncombe  the  production  of  farm  wealth  is 
on  a  many-crop,  live-at-home  basis,  and  we  were  in  far  better  shape  just 
after  the  census  was  taken  than  they  were.  It  is  readily  seen  that  our  low 
percent  of  increase  did  us  as  much  good  as  was  done  in  the  east  by  higher 
rates,  because  we  bought  so  little  food  while  the  eastern  counties  bought 
practically  all  they  used. 

Investment  in  Farm  Implements 

In  1920  the  per  acre  investment  in  farm  implements  in  Buncombe  was 
two  dollars.  Scotland  county  was  first  in  rank  and  had  an  average  invest- 
ment of  seven  dollars  and  seven  cents  per  acre.  Graham,  another  mountain 
county,  had  only  forty-iive  cents  invested  per  acre  in  farm  implements.  We 
led  the  entire  mountain  area,  and  in  this  state  no  county  uses  farm  machinery 
to  a  large  extent  as  they  use  it  in  the  west. 

The  rough  character  of  the  land  and  the  large  acreage  in  pasture  are  the 
chief  reasons  for  the  small  investment  in  farm  machinery.  In  any  number 
of  cases  there  are  practically  no  farm  implements  used  except  a  plow,  a  hoe, 
and  a  wagon.  Farming,  under  such  a  handicap,  cannot  be  made  a  very 
profitable  business.  Our  per  farm  investment  was  only  $143.00.  This  small 
amount  just  about  covers  a  plow  and  a  wagon.  In  order  to  be  a  really  profit- 
able business,  farming  should  economize  by  using  labor-saving  machinery 
wherever  this  is  practicable. 

Total  Production  of  Agricultural  Wealth  in  1919 
In  Buncombe  in  1919  we  produced  $4,492,214  worth  of  agricultural 
wealth  and  ranked  fiftieth  in  the  state.  Nevertheless  we  led  the  mountain 
area  and  this  means  we  are  among  the  leaders  in  the  retention  of  wealth. 
Only  2  percent  of  all  the  agricultural  wealth  produced  in  the  county  was 
from  non-food  crops.  Robeson  produced  $24,000,000  worth  of  agricultural 
wealth  but  78  percent  of  this  was  from  non-food  crops.  We  retain  practically 
all  we  produce,  but  not  so  in  cash-crop  areas. 

Production  of  Agricultural  Wealth  per  Rural  Inhabitant  in  1919 

The  average  rural  inhabitant  in  Buncombe  county  in  1919  produced 
$132  worth  of  agricultural  wealth.  Scotland  county  was  first  in  rank  in  this 
particular  with  an  average  of  $750  per  rural  inhabitant.    The  average  family 


48  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

has  five  members,  so  we  can  see  that  the  average  family  produced  $660  worth 
of  agricultural  wealth  that  year.  Included  in  this  average  are  many  people 
who  live  in  the  country  and  small  unincorporated  places,  but  who  produce 
no  crops.  Necessarily,  the  standard  of  living  with  such  a  small  amount  of 
money  is  not  at  all  what  it  should  be. 

Production  of  Crop  Wealth  in  1919 

In  this  discussion  only  the  value  of  crops  is  considered,  whereas,  in  the 
preceding  paragraphs,  livestock  also  was  included. 

iBuncombe  ranks  fifty-ninth  with  $2,825,739  worth  of  crops  alone.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  we  produce  livestock  along  with  crops,  while  in 
the  eastern  counties  there  is  a  lack  of  livestock  and  an  excessive  production 
of  crops.    We  rank  first  among  the  food-and-feed  counties  in  this  respect  also. 

Cultivated  Acres  per  Farm  in  1919 

In  1919  the  average  cultivated  acres  oer  farm  were  .IS.  Here  we  rank 
twenty-third.  The  large  amount  of  pasture  land  is  one  reason  for  our  high 
rank.  Also,  tenant  farms  are  generally  very  small.  With  the  growth  in 
importance  of  livestock  farming  we  will  see  a  considerable  increase  in  the 
cultivated  acres. 

Production  of  Corn,  Hay,  Wheat,  Oats,  and  Potatoes 

The  production  of  corn  in  Buncombe  county  is  of  great  importance.  We 
are  the  twelfth  county  in  rank  and  produced  671,000  bushels  in  1919.  This 
means  feed  for  a  large  number  of  work  stock  and  cattle  as  well  as  food  for 
the  family. 

In  wheat  production  per  acre  we  rank  forty-fifth  and  average  8.6  bushels 
per  acre.  This  is  extremely  low;  Chowan  county  averaged  23.1  bushels 
an  acre. 

We  produced  36,236  bushels  of  oats  and  ranked  fifteenth  in  the  state. 
Here  also  there  is  room  for  improvement.  Anson  county  produced  three 
times  as  much. 

In  hay  and  forage  production  we  rank  third.  The  leading  county 
produced  only  six  thousand  tons  more  than  we.  Our  production  was  20,000 
tons. 

Value  of  Domestic  Animals 

Under  this  head  come  all  kinds  of  livestock.  Our  rank  is  eighteenth 
with  a  value  of  $1,778,063.  Johnston  county  leads  us  by  a  million  dollars, 
but  this  is  due  to  her  large  number  of  horses  and  mules  employed  in  the 
production  of  cotton  and  tobacco.  In  Buncombe  the  values  are  well  divided 
between  milk  and  meat  cattle,  chickens,  hogs,  work  stock,  and  sheep. 

The  value  of  all  cattle  in  the  county  in  1919  was  $942,885.  Ashe  county 
led  the  state  with  cattle  valued  at  $1,169,721.  In  this  particular  line  we  have 
made  great  strides  forward  in  the  past  few  years  and  soon  should  lead  the 
entire  state;   our  rank  was  second  at  the  time  the  last  census  was  taken. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  49 

About  two-thirds  of  the  cattle  in  the  county  are  of  the  dairy  type.  With 
the  steadily  increasing  demand  for  milk  and  dairy  products  in  Western  North 
Carolina  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  be  one  of  the  richest  dairying 
counties  in  the  state.  No  county  has  better  markets  or  natural  advantages 
than  Buncombe.  Already  we  sell  15.6  percent  of  all  milk  sold  in  the  state. 
This  amounted  to  1,100,022  gallons  in  1919.  ■  ,: 

Fourteenth  in  Chickens  and  Eggs  Produced 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  considered  in  this  article  as  it 
means  better  food  and  of  higher  nutritive  value  than  any  except  milk.  It  is 
an  established  fact  that  in  rural  areas  where  poultry  is  not  raised,  very  little 
is  ever  bought.  The  same  is  true  of  milk  and  butter.  However,  in  Buncombe 
the  production  of  these  valuable  foods  is  high  and  it  means  a  well-fed  and 
well-nourished  area,  in  general. 

Summary 

In  the  interpretation  of  the  census  report  we  have  dealt  only  with  facts, 
in  order  that  the  reader  might  get  an  accurate  and  detailed  report  of  Bun- 
combe as  an  agricultural  county. 

In  the  production  of  livestock  we  rank  high  in  the  state  but,  so  far, 
North  Carolina  is  not  important  as  a  livestock  state.  We  are  really  going 
forward  at  the  present  time  and  at  the  next  census  we  should  be  well  up 
among  the  leaders  of  the  country. 

A  large  part  of  the  acreage  in  Buncombe  is  unsuitable  for  crop  pro- 
duction, but  is  ideal  for  pasture  and  fruit  lands.  It  is  necessary  to  utilize 
every  acre  on  the  farm  in  order  that  the  maximum  returns  may  be  had. 

Farmers'  Federation  of  Fairview 

In  the  Fairview  community,  greater  progress  has  been  made  in  farming 
than  in  any  other  section  of  the  county.  This  is  entirely  due  to  the  progressive 
attitude  introduced  by  the  Farmers'  Federation. 

This  corporation,  owned  and  operated  by  the  farmers  along  cooperative 
lines,  assures  a  market  for  all  produce  raised.  It  buys  pure-bred  cattle,  hogs, 
work-stock,  etc.,  for  its  members.  Also  it  buys  fertilizers  and  seeds  of  the 
highest  quality  and  at  greatly  reduced  prices.  In  addition,  everything  that 
is  raised  on  the  farms  is  sold  through  their  warehouses,  provided  the  product 
comes  up  to  the  required  standards. 

The  Federation  has  attracted  the  attention  of  farmers  all  over  Buncombe 
and  has  members  in  all  sections.  It  is  by  cooperation  alone  that  the  farmer 
can  get  the  maximum  part  of  the  consumer's  dollar.  The  consolidation  of 
Buncombe  county  farmers  into  this  central  federation  will  certainly  mean 
the  raising  of  farming  to  a  higher  and  far  more  profitable  level. 

Western  North  Carolina  affords  a  good  market  for  large  quantities  of 
high-grade   farm   produce.     At   present   a   large  part  of  this  is  shipped  in 


BUNCOMBE  COUNTY  COURT  HCUGE 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  51 

because  of  the  "cut-throat"  methods  of  marketing  that  are  generally  practiced. 
For  this  reason  the  further  development  of  this  cooperative  enterprise  cannot 
fail  to  mean  better  and  more  profitable  farming  in  Buncombe  county. 

Facts  About  Farm  Conditions  and  Practices  in 
Buncombe  County 

20th  in     Area,  acres 408,960 

Robeson  county  first  with  633,300  acres. 

23rd  in     Farms,  number 3,701 

Johnston  led  with  7,026  farms. 

77th  in     Farm  decrease,  1910  to  1920,  percent 5.8 

Sixty-one  counties  increased  in  farms  and  thirty-nine 
lost  farms.  The  state  increase  was  6.3  percent.  The 
farms  in  Buncombe  decreased  from  3,938  to  3,701. 

23rd  in     Farm  ownership,  percent 74.7 

State  average,  43.5  percent  tenants.  Scotland  last 
with  79.6  percent  tenants.  Between  1910  and  1920  the 
tenant  ratio  decreased  2.6  percent  in  Buncombe. 

92nd  in     Decrease  in  negro  farmers,  1910  to  1920,  percent 48.3 

There  were  sixty-three  counties  that  increased  in  negro 
farmers  and  thirty-seven,  mainly  in  the  mountains  and 
hill  country,  that  lost.  Lenoir  county  increased  71.6 
percent  in  negro  farmers.  The  state  increase  was, 
negro  farmers  16.2  percent,  and  white  2.8  percent. 

17th  in     Decrease  in  farm  tenants,  1910  to  1920,  percent 19.3 

There  was  a  decrease  in  farm  tenants  in  forty-six 
counties.  New  Hanover  led  with  a  decrease  of  46.4 
percent.  Farm  tenants  increased  in  number  in  fifty- 
four  counties,  with  Pamlico  leading  with  a  94.1  percent 
gain.    The  increase  for  the  state  was  9.5  percent. 

24th  in     ^'alue  of  land  per  farm,    1920 S3,510 

90th  in     Increase  in  farm  wealth,  1910  to  1920,  percent 40.9 

Greene  County  increased  in  farm  wealth  310  percent, 
while  Dare  ranked  lowest  witli  an  increase  of  13.8 
percent. 

63rd  in     Investment  in  farm  implements   per  acre $2.00 

Scotland  led  with  an  average  of  S7.07  per  acre. 
Graham  was  lowest  with  only  45  cents  per  acre.  The 
state  average  was  $2.70. 

73rd  in     Investment  in  farm  implements  per  farm $143 

Scotland  led  here  also  with  an  average  of  $441. 
Graham  was  again  low,  having  a  per  farm  average  of 
$38.01.     The  state  average  was  $202.50. 


52  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

50th  in     Total  production  of  agricultural  wealth  in  1919 $4,492,214 

•  Robeson  county  produced  $24,045,294  worth  of  agri- 
cuhural  wealth,  while  Dare  produced  only  $53,234. 

83rd  in     Production   of  agricultural  wealth    per  rural  inhabitant 

in  1919 $132 

The  state  average  was  $313.  Thirty-eight  counties 
ranked  above  and  sixty-two  below  the  average.  Scot- 
land was  high,  with  an  average  of  $750. 

77th  in     Production  of  agricultural  wealth   per  farm  in  1919 $1,217 

Scotland  led  with  an  average  of  $5,022.  Dare  county 
ranked  last  with  an  average  of  $698.  The  state  average 
was  $2,104. 

59th  in     Total  production  of  crop  wealth  in  1919,  value $2,825,739 

Robeson  ranked  first  with  a  crop  wealth  of  $22,955,950. 

96th  in     Increase   in   farm  wealth  per   rural   inhabitant,   1910   to 

1920,  percent 28 

Pitt  led  with  an  increase  of  335  percent.  Our  farm 
wealth  per  rural  inhabitant  in  1910  was  $439;  in 
1920  it  was  $565. 

23rd  in     Average  cultivated  acres  per  farm  in  1919,  acres 35 

Alleghany  was  first,  having  65.1  cultivated  acres  per 
farm.  The  state  average  was  30.4  acres,  the  lowest  of 
any  state  in  the  Union  except  Massachusetts. 

13th  in     Agricultural  wealth  produced  by  non-food  crops  in  1919, 

percent   2.0 

Alleghany  led  with  only  .6  percent,  while  in  Scotland 
county  84  percent  of  all  agricultural  wealth  is  produced 
by  non-food  crops,  cotton  and  tobacco.  State  average 
is  60  percent. 

12th  in     Production  of  com  in  1919,  bushels 671,522 

Robeson  county  produced  1,376,244  bushels  and  led 
the  state.    Dare  county  produced  only  4,701  bushels. 

45th  in     Per  acre  wheat  production  in  1919,  bushels 8.6 

Chowan  led,  producing  an  average  of  23.1  bushels  per 
acre.    Carteret  and  Dare  produced  none  at  all. 

3rd  in     Hay  and  forage  production  in  1919,  tons 20,009 

Mecklenburg  led  with  a  production  of  26,208  tons. 
The  entire  state  produced  688,843  tons. 

15th  in     Production  of  oats  in  1919,  bushels 36,236 

In  oats  production  Anson  led  with  108,276  bushels. 
The  state  produced  1,671,308  bushels. 

9th  in     Irish  potato  production  in  1919,  bu.shels 73,551 

Duplin  led  with  a  production  of  246,212  bushels. 
Dare  produced  only  1,715  bushels  and  was  100th  in 
rank.    The  state  production  was  2,853,997  bushels. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  53 

18th  in     Value  of  domestic  animals,  value $1,778,063 

Johnston  led  with  animals  valued  at  $2,920,921. 
2nd  in    Total  value  of  all  cattle  in  1919,  value $942,885 

Ashe  led  with  value  of  $1,169,721. 
3rd  in    Total  value  of  beef  cattle  in  1919,  value $279,568 

Alleghany  and  Ashe   have   beef  stock  valued  higher 

than  in  Buncombe. 
2nd  in     Total  value  of  dairy  cattle  in  1919,  value $663,317 

Ashe    leads    here    also    with    dairy    cattle    valued    at 

$681,130. 
1st   in    Milk  sold  in  1919,  gallons 1,100,022 

We  sold  15.57  percent  of  all  milk  sold  in  the  state  in 

1919. 

1st  in     Value  of  dairy  products  in  1919,  value $744,901 

14th  in     Value  of  chickens  and  eggs  produced  in  1919,  value $300,471 

Wake  led  with  a  value  of  $477,563. 

Sources  of  Information : 

U.  S.  Census  Reports  on  Agriculture. 

Department     Rural     Social     Economics     Files,     University     of     North 
Carolina. 


Vli 

RURAL  SCHOOLS  OF  BUNCOMBE 

SEVEN-YEAR  GAINS,  1913-1914  TO  1920-1921 


A.  M.  MOSER,  Swannanoa 

Buncombe  county  now  leacis  the  entire  state  in  good  schools,  a  fact  in 
which  we  may  rightly  take  great  pride.  We  have  made  decided  progress 
during  the  seven-year  period  which  this  chapter  considers. 

In  estimating  our  standard  in  school  matters,  Dr.  E.  C.  Brooks,  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  recently  said  in  an  address  at  Asheville 
that  Buncombe  county  does  not  draw  from  the  equalization  fund,  yet  it  has 
better  buildings,  better  teachers,  better  equipment,  better  supervision,  better 
organization,  and  more  children  who  pass  through  the  seventh  grade,  than 
any  other  county  in  the  state.  "These,  then,"  he  said,  "should  be  the 
standard  by  which  to  measure  elementary  schools.  The  serious  aspect  of  the 
question  is  the  per  capita  cost  of  instruction  in  such  elementary  schools  as 
are  found  in  Graham,  Yancey,  and  many  other  counties  where  the  rate  is  as 
high  as  and,  in  some  instances,  higher  than  in  Buncombe  county.  The 
reason  for  this  is  poor  buildings,  small,  uninteresting,  one-room  schools, 
poor  teachers  and  poor  equipment.  Pupils  will  not  attend  such  schools 
regularly,  therefore  the  number  of  pupils  per  teachers  in  average  daily 
attendance  is  low,  thus  increasing  the  per  capita  cost  to  a  higher  average  than 
in  Buncombe  county." 

In  most  cases  Buncombe  county's  schools  are  far  above  the  state  average. 
We  now  have  nine  standard  high  schools  in  the  county,  schools  whose  gradu- 
ates are  eligible  to  enter  college  or  university  without  condition  or  examina- 
tion. This  should  be  a  matter  of  great  pride,  especially  when  we  consider  that 
until  very  recently  there  were  28  counties  in  the  state  in  which  there  was  not 
to  be  found  a  single  standard  high  school,  not  even  in  the  towns.  And  there 
are  yet  41  counties  in  the  state  which  have  no  standard  high  schools  in  their 
rural  communities. 

In  Buncombe  we  now  have  43  local  tax  districts  and  the  amount  raised 
from  these  districts  alone  in  1920-21  was  839,294,  an  increase  during  the 
last  eight  years  of  $20,000.  The  total  value  of  white  school  property  has 
increased  from  $100,053  in  1913-14  to  $575,000  in  1920-21,  or  a  gain  of 
475  percent.  This  shows  that  the  wealth  of  the  county  has  increased  and 
also  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  spend  money  for  the  building  and  support 
of  schools.     Witness  the  eleven  new  districts  which  have  been  consolidated 


56  Buncombe  County  :   Economic  and  Social 

within  the  last  three  years.  School  districts,  consolidated  and  other,  number 
ninety-six.  The  average  length  of  the  school  term  for  the  entire  county  is 
six  and  one-half  months. 

The  amount  spent  for  teaching  and  supervision  also  makes  an  excellent 
showing.  The  increase  was  from  $50,949  in  1913-14  to  $247,208  in  1920-21, 
or  a  gain  of  385.2  percent.  This  increase  has  resulted  in  three  things:  first, 
it  has  lengthened  the  average  school  term  in  number  of  days;  second,  the 
number  of  white  teachers  has  been  increased  from  157  to  213  or  36  percent; 
and,  third,  the  average  monthly  salary  for  white  teachers  has  been  increased 
from  $46.81  to  $81.91,  and  the  average  annual  salary  from  $297.24  to  $532.41. 
The  average  monthly  salary  for  white  principals  is  $212.05.  The  increased 
salary  has  resulted  in  the  securing  of  better  teachers  for  the  schools  and  the 
retention  of  experienced  teachers,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  increase  in  number 
of  teachers  having  four  years'  experience,  from  80  to  102,  a  gain  of  28  percent. 
Longer  terms,  a  larger  teaching  force,  more  experienced  teachers,  and  a 
continued  effort  on  the  part  of  the  people,  must  result  in  still  better  schools 
and  greater  effectiveness. 

The  amount  spent  for  buildings  and  supplies  has  kept  pace  with  the 
other  progress  of  the  county.  The  increase  for  the  county  was  from  $22,949 
to  $74,376  or  224  percent.    The  state  increase  in  this  item  was  far  below  this. 

The  number  of  white  teachers  shows  an  increase  of  36  percent,  and  the 
number  having  four  or  more  years  of  experience  has  increased  from  80  to  102. 

Not  only  has  the  size  of  the  schools  increased  but  the  schools  have  also 
gained  in  equipment.  A  large  percent  of  the  schools  now  have  patent  desks. 
Most  of  those  that  do  not  have  patent  desks  are  one-  and  two-teacher  schools 
which  will  soon  be  replaced  by  large  well-equipped  buildings. 

There  are  now  79  rural  libraries  in  the  county,  with  a  total  of  5,158 
volumes.  A  number  of  the  high  schools  have  been  equipped  to  give  vocational 
training.  Some  of  these  are  Biltmore,  Barnardsville,  Black  Mountain,  and 
Grace.  There  are  two  schools  in  the  county  which  have  teacherages  or 
teachers'  homes,  one  at  Biltmore  and  one  at  Black  Mountain. 

In  the  seven  years  considered  the  rural  school  population  decreased 
.3  percent.  This  is  a  small  decrease  but  it  is  too  much.  There  should  have 
been  a  decided  increase.  But  we  find  that  the  average  daily  attendance  in- 
creased 15  percent.  The  school  enrollment  has  increased,  for  whites  5  percent 
and  for  colored  children  25  percent. 

In  regard  to  illiteracy,  in  1920  Buncombe  county  had  the  smallest  per- 
centage of  illiterates  of  any  other  county  in  the  state  according  to  the  Bureau 
of  the  Census.  The  figures  for  the  county  show  that  the  percentage  of  white 
illiterates  was  4.8,  and  of  colored  15.5.  Since  the  Bureau  classes  all  persons 
over  10  years  of  age  who  cannot  write  in  any  language  as  illiterate,  this  is  an 
excellent  showing. 

Room  for  Improvement 

Taking  the  county  as  a  whole,  we  have  made  and  are  still  making  good 
progress,  but  there  is  much  room  for  further  improvement,  especially  in  the 


Buncombe  County:   Econo^^iic  and  Social  57 

matter  of  consolidation.     There  is  still  a  large  number  of  small  one-teacher 
schools  which  must  be  consolidated. 

A  number  of  the  schools  already  consolidated  must  raise  the  standard  of 
efficiency,  secure  more  and  better  equipment,  and  employ  still  better  prepared 
teachers.  We  find  that  out  of  the  213  white  teachers  who  taught  in  the  rural 
schools  of  Buncombe  in  1920-21,  only  102  had  had  four  years'  experience, 
and  only  21  had  college  diplomas.  There  were  28  with  college  diplomas  in 
1913-14,  so  there  seems  to  have  been  a  decrease  in  teachers  having  higher 
preparation. 

In  regard  to  the  matter  of  consolidation  of  schools,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  a  number  of  districts  in  the  past  have  not  been  able  to  consolidate 
because  of  the  lack  of  good  roads.  This  has  been  especially  true  of  certain 
isolated  communities.  But  conditions  in  this  regard  are  changing.  Buncombe 
now  has  more  and  better  roads  than  any  other  county  not  only  in  the  state,  but 
in  the  entire  South. 

It  has  now  become  pretty  well  recognized  by  school  officials  and  leaders 
in  education  that  consolidation  can  only  come  after  good  roads  have  been 
provided.  Good  transportation  facilities  must  be  available  in  order  to  trans- 
port the  children  to  the  schools  from  remote  sections.  In  most  sections  of  the 
county  this  condition  now  prevails;  good  roads  have  been  and  are  still  being 
built,  and  there  is  no  longer,  except  in  very  rare  instances,  an  excuse  for  not 
consolidating. 

Consolidation  the  Only  Remedy 

We  have  come  to  realize  that  consolidation  of  schools  and  transportation 
of  pupils  offer  practically  the  only  means  by  which  the  school  advantages  now 
enjoyed  by  the  children  of  the  town  and  city  can  be  put  within  reach  of  most 
of  the  rural  communities  of  the  county. 

The  small  one-teacher  school  no  longer  has  a  place  in  our  educational 
system.  It  is  too  expensive  and  too  inefficient.  The  poor  type  of  building, 
poor  equipment,  and  ineffective  method  of  teaching  characteristic  of  such 
schools,  and  the  tendency  toward  idleness  and  other  evils  which  appears  when 
children  are  not  properly  supervised  and  directed,  all  unite  to  make  consoli- 
dation the  more  necessary.  The  lack  of  professional  contacts  of  the  teacher, 
the  lack  of  intellectual  stimulus  of  numbers  in  the  one-teacher  school,  and 
the  lifeless  existence  of  children  so  often  observed  in  such  schools — these  and 
other  harmful  features  can  only  be  eliminated  by  the  union  of  these  small 
schools  into  larger  ones. 

The  purpose  of  rural  school  consolidation  is  to  furnish  the  country  boy 
and  girl  a  greater  opportunity  for  effective  education  and  training  for  happy 
and  useful  lives,  and  to  furnish  a  community  center  where  all  the  people  can 
come  together  for  special  occasions,  as  I  shall  point  out  later. 

What  It  Means 

Consolidation  means  comfortable,  convenient,  and  attractive  school  build- 
ings.    It   means   better  salaries   for  teachers,   therefore  better  teachers,   and 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  59 

teachers  who  are  willing  to  remain  for  longer  terms  in  the  same  communities. 
It  means  a  more  complete  course  of  study,  including  high-school  subjects, 
agriculture,  domestic  science,  industrial  arts,  music,  drawing,  etc.  Con- 
solidation means  larger  enrollment  and  better  attendance,  with  resulting 
stimulation;  better  grading  and  classification  of  pupils,  and  better  organiza- 
tion of  class  instruction.  It  means  a  chance  to  secure  a  high-school  education 
at  home.  It  stimulates  and  develops  a  more  wholesome  and  attractive  com- 
munity spirit  and  interest.  The  consolidated  school  enriches  and  strengthens 
the  lives  of  the  boys  and  girls  and  men  and  women  of  the  community. 

Teachers'  Salaries 

The  matter  of  securing  efficient  teachers  resolves  itself  into  the  subject  of 
teachers'  salaries.  I  am  glad  to  note  that  teachers'  salaries  have  improved 
within  the  last  few  years,  but  teachers  in  many  cases  are  still  poorly  paid. 
In  every  line  of  work  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  salary  paid  determines  the 
type  of  men  that  are  attracted  into  the  work.  If  teachers  are  poor  you  cannot 
blame  the  teachers.  The  fault  lies  with  the  taxpayer  alone.  It  is  useless 
to  conceal  the  facts.  On  the  whole  our  teachers  are  not  as  well  prepared  as 
they  should  be.  We  have  a  number  of  good  teachers  who  have  experience 
and  who  have  been  trained  to  teach.  But  we  still  have  too  many  teachers 
with  second-  and  third-grade  certificates. 

But  back  of  poor  quality  of  teachers  lie  poor  salaries.  The  grade  of 
teachers  will  never  be  improved  until  they  are  paid  enough  to  justify  a  demand 
that  they  equip  themselves  properly.  The  average  salary  for  ■  this  state  is 
about  half  the  salary  for  the  nation.  It  is  lower  in  the  mountain  counties 
than  elsewhere  in  the  state.  As  a  remedy  many  of  our  ablest  teachers  have 
abandoned  the  teaching  profession,  and  their  places  have  been  taken  by  raw 
recruits,,  mainly  girls  who  have  not  finished  high  school. 

We  must  pay  teachers  salaries  that  will  enable  them  to  remain  in  the 
profession  and  in  the  community  and  become  real  community  builders. 
"Better  pay  for  better  teachers  is  the  best  insurance  for  better  schools." 

The  High  School  as  Community  Center 

It  has  been  recognized  for  some  time  that  the  rural  people,  and  particu- 
larly the  people  of  the  mountains,  do  not  have  sufficient  social  contact  with 
one  another,  and  do  not  have  the  proper  amount  of  amusement  and  recreation 
to  enable  them  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  life  as  they  should.  The  people  need 
to  come  together  more,  so  they  may  understand  each  other  better  and  may 
have  mutual  sympathy  and  a  community  spirit.  The  high  school  of  each 
community  should  offer  this  opportunity. 

In  the  mapping  out  of  districts  for  the  large  high  schools  of  the  county, 
care  should  be  taken  to  select  the  most  natural  boundaries  for  the  districts, 
and  the  buildings  should  be  located  at  the  places  most  convenient  both  for 
the  present  population   and  for  the  future   development   of  the  community. 


60  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

Another  important  matter  is  to  see  that  no  district  laid  out  will  conflict  with 
possible  future  districts  or  with  future  schools  which  other  communities  may 
desire  to  establish. 

Every  high  school  should  be  built  with  a  large  auditorium  and  stage, 
where  all  the  people  in  the  district  can  meet  together  for  high-school  com- 
mencements, community  and  high-school  plays,  musicals,  lectures,  moving 
pictures,  clubs,  social  gatherings,  and  so  on  and  on.  There  ought  to  be 
special  rooms  for  literary  societies,  where  the  young  people  and  women's  clubs 
and  the  farmers'  organizations  could  meet  and  carry  on  their  work. 

Every  high  school  should  be  the  center  from  which  all  community  life 
and  activity  radiates.  There  should  be  something  at  the  high  school  to 
interest  not  only  the  students  but  every  member  of  the  community  all  the 
year  round.  At  least  once  a  week  there  should  be  something  special  that 
would  bring  the  people  together  at  the  high  school,  and  that  would  be  really 
worth  while  to  them. 

We  need  principals  of  schools  who  have  an  interest  in  the  welfare  and 
upbuilding  of  the  community ;  who  will  think  out  ways  and  means  of  making 
the  high  school  a  more  vital  part  of  the  community;  men  with  personality, 
executive  ability,  and  training,  and  who  have  understanding  and  vision. 
Then  and  not  until  then  will  our  schools  fill  the  place  they  should  in  the 
community  and  in  the  lives  of  the  people. 

SEVEN-YEAR  GAINS  IN  BUNCOMBE  BTJRAL  SCHOOLS 

1913-14  to  1920-21 
A.  M.  MOSER,  Buncombe  Co.,  Swannanoa,  N.  C. 

1913-14 

Raised  by  local  tax $19,293 

Spent  for  teachers  and  supervision $50,949 

Spent  for  buildings  and  supplies $22,949 

Spent   for   administration $6,417 

Total  school  population : 

White    10,419 

Colored  855 

Total  school  enrollment: 

White    8,135 

Colored    570 

Percent  white  enrollment 78.1 

Average  daily  attendance : 

White    5,393 

Colored   493 

Percent  white  attendance  on  enrolknent 65.1 

Average  annual  salaries: 

White    $297  $532.41  80 


Percent 

1920-21 

Gains 

$39,294 

103.6 

$247,208 

385.2 

$74,376 

224.0 

$6,800 

5.9 

10,393 

.i* 

843 

1.5* 

8,500 

4.9 

715 

25.4 

81.7 

Z.6 

6,176 

14.5 

382 

23* 

72.6 

7.5 

$575,000 

474.7 

$3,000 

37.3* 

84 

9.6* 

43 

5 

49 

22.5 

58.3 

15.3 

213 

35.8 

102 

27.5 

21 

25* 

82 

11.8* 

64 

12.3* 

5 

25 

1 

80* 

259 

254 

304 

223 

9 

125 

Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  61 

Total  value  of  school  property : 

White    $100,053 

Colored   $4,787 

Nuniber  rural  white  schools 93 

Number  local  tax  districts . —  41 

Number  rural  white  schools  having  two 

or  more  teachers 40 

Percent  having  two  or  more  white  teachers  43 

Total  number  white  teachers 157 

Number  having  four  years'  experience 80 

Number  having  college  diplomas 28 

Number  white  school  houses 93 

Number  having  patent  desks: 

White    73 

Colored   4 

Number  new  white  schools 5 

Number  children  in  standard  high  schools : 

Boys 76 

Girls    94 

Number  standard  high  schools 4 

Note — *  means  decrease. 

How  Buncombe  Ranked  in  Public  Education,  1921-1922 

1st     in  total  school  funds,  1921-22 $1,746,788 

2nd    in  total  school  expenditures,  1921-22 $1,056,331 

Gaston  first  with  $1,221,597. 

2nd     in  total  rural  school   fund $700,644 

5th     in  total  rural  school  expenditures $405,030 

Gaston  first  with  $898,446. 
4th     in  average  school  expenditures  per  inhabitant $16.46 

Durham,  $24.08.    State  average,  $10.59. 
4th     in  average  school  expenditures  per  pupil  enrolled $62.42 

Durham,  $87.41.    State  average,  $35.96. 
3rd     in  average  cost  for  current  expenses  per  pupil  attending  school        $40.22 
9th     in  average  annual  salary  paid  white  teachers $946.86 

New  Hanover,  $1,259.15.    State  average,  $720.73. 

27th     in  average  annual  salary  paid  rural  white  teachers $704.73 

2nd     in  average  annual  salary  paid  colored  teachers $739.35 

State  average,  $412.78. 
71st     in  percent  of  white  school  population  enrolled 82.4 

State  average,  85.2  percent. 
77th     in    percent    of    white    school    population    in    average    daily 

attendance   59.7 

State  average,  63.8  percent. 


62  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

93rd    in  percent  of  colored  school  population  enrolled 66.0 

71st     in    percent   of    colored   school   population    in    average    daily 

attendance    : 52.0 

State  average,  56.9  percent. 
11th     in  average  term  of  all  schools,  days 156 

State  average,  141.1  days. 

9th     in  number  of  local  tax  districts 39 

20th     in  rating  of  all  school  teachers  (perfect  score  800) 507.4 

Durham  leads  with  a  score  of  646  out  of  a  possible  800. 

The  training  of  the  teacher  determines  the  rating.    High 

School  graduate  rates  400 ;   college  graduate  800. 

Sources  of  Information: 

Reports  of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

1920  Census  Reports. 

Report  of  Buncombe  County  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Rural  Social  Economics  Files,  University  of  North  Carolina. 

Booklets  of  Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


VIII 


HOME-RAISED  FOOD  AND  THE  LOCAL 
MARKET  PROBLEM 


JOHN  C.  CHEESBOROUGH,  Asheville 

J,  A  Six  and  Three  Quarter  Million  Dollar  Shortage 

In  Buncombe  county  in  1920  there  was  a  need  for  food  and  feed  supplies 
amounting  to  $11,225,017,  and  there  was  produced  by  the  people  of  Bun- 
combe only  $4,535,437  worth  of  food  and  feed.  This  means  that  during  that 
year  the  people  and  domestic  animals  in  Buncombe  county  consumed,  or 
needed  to  consume,  more  food  to  the  amount  of  $6,689,580  than  they  produced. 

The  figures  given  above  are  based  on  the  last  census  and  the  average 
annual  consumption  figures  given  out  by  the  federal  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. It  is  also  a  significant  fact  that  the  above  figures  cover  the  food 
bill  for  only  standard  staple  food  and  feedstuffs.  The  extra  amount  which  is 
spent  for  luxuries  is  not  taken  into  consideration  although  it  would  no 
doubt  make  considerable  difference  in  the  figures. 

The  Shortage 

The  shortage  in  part  covers  2,096,096  pounds  of  meat,  including  fowls; 
694,590  dozen  eggs;  609,000  bushels  of  corn;  133,058  bushels  of  wheat;  and 
10,000  tons  of  hay.  In  comparison  with  the  other  counties  in  the  state  our 
status  is  not  bad.  The  greatest  part  of  the  shortage  seems  to  be  in  meat  and 
eggs.  This  means  that  the  raising  of  livestock  and  poultry  in  Buncombe 
county  should  be  increased  greatly,  and  also  the  other  commodities  to  a  lesser 
extent.  Unless  these  shortages  are  made  up  by  the  farmers  the  people  of 
Buncombe  will  either  do  without  needed  food,  or  be  compelled  to  buy  from 
outside  markets. 

Why  Our  Farmers  Fall  Behind 

Buncombe  county  farmers  failed  to  produce  the  shortage  of  six  and 
three-quarter  million  dollars  for  three  reasons  mainly :  ( 1 )  the  unusually 
large  city  population  of  the  county;  (2)  the  absence  of  cooperation  in 
marketing  their  products;  (3)  the  general  lack  of  modern  methods  of  culti- 
vation and  farming. 

These  conditions,  which  exist  today  and  have  existed  for  years  in  the 
county,  will  be  discussed  in  detail  in  another  paragraph. 

Our  Home-Raised  Supplies 

In  order  to  obtain  what  is  considered  the  bare  necessities  of  life.  Bun- 
combe county  has  been  compelled  to  buy  over  half  the  food  required  for 


64  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

yearly  consumption.  As  long  as  this  continues  we  cannot  hope  to  become  a 
rich  county,  since  money  cannot  be  accumulated  by  sending  it  away.  Our 
rank  with  respect  to  the  counties  of  North  Carolina  is  given  below. 

In  the  amount  of  com  produced  per  person,  Buncombe  ranks  87th, 
producing  10.4  bushels  per  person  whereas  the  amount  needed  is  31  bushels 
per  person  for  man  and  beast.  But  it  may  also  be  noted  that  we  rank  12th 
in  total  production  of  corn,  with  a  production  of  671,522  bushels.  This  wide 
difference  in  total  and  per  capita  production  is  due  to  our  city  population, 
which  is  included  in  the  per  capita  figures  but  which  does  not  produce  any 
corn  at  all. 

In  the  per  capita  production  of  wheat  we  stand  37th,  with  a  production 
of  1.9  bushels  per  person.  Allowing  4  bushels  a  year  per  person,  we  needed 
256,592  bushels  and  we  produced  only  123,534  bushels,  thus  leaving  a  deficit 
of  133,058  bushels.  This  deficit  can  be  greatly  decreased  if  more  care  is 
given  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat.  In  the  per  acre  production  our  rank  is 
45th  with  8.6  bushels.  This  is  very  poor  since  there  are  44  counties  ahead 
of  us.    Chowan  county  leads  the  state  with  23.1  bushels  per  acre. 

In  per  capita  production  of  butter  Buncombe  ranks  43rd.  The  amount 
needed  per  person  per  year  is  a  minimum  of  48  pounds,  but  we  produced 
only  12.2  pounds  per  person.  We  needed  3,078,804  pounds  and  yet  we 
produced  only  786,512  pounds.  At  the  present  time  new  dairy  industries 
are  thriving  in  the  county  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  make  a  con- 
siderable progress  by  the  next  census  report. 

Our  egg  production  amounted  to  6.6  dozens  per  person  which  is  below 
the  state  average.  We  need  17.5  dozens  a  year  per  person  and  our  rank  of 
75th  in  the  production  per  person  is  but  another  evidence  of  our  need  for 
greater  poultry  production.  However,  our  figures  concerning  poultry  show 
that  our  city  population  is  again  to  blame  for  our  per  capita  rank,  since  in 
the  total  value  of  chickens  and  eggs  produced  Buncombe  county  stands  14th 
with  a  value  of  $300,471. 

Ninety-four  counties  produced  more  pork  per  person  than  Buncombe. 
We  do  not  produce  one-third  as  much  as  the  state  average  of  99  pounds  per 
person,  and  the  state  average  is  nothing  to  be  proud  of  when  we  are  ranked 
against  the  other  states.  Our  low  rank  in  the  raising  of  hogs  shows  up  only 
too  plainly  in  our  meat  deficit  of  2,096,096  pounds.  In  a  county  which  is  as 
naturally  suited  to  hog  raising  as  is  Buncombe,  we  should  actually  raise  more 
hogs  than  we  need,  not  only -at  very  little  cost  but  at  a  large  profit. 

In  the  increase  of  value  in  livestock  since  1910  we  rank  58th,  with  an 
increase  of  68  percent.  The  state  average  increase  was  85  percent,  but  this 
increase  was  caused  for  the  most  part  by  the  enormous  gain  in  the  number 
of  mules  and  horses,  which  are  used  in  the  cotton  belt  of  the  state  and  also 
in  the  production  of  tobacco. 

In  hay  and  forage  production  Buncombe  county  produced  20,009  tons, 
which  i?  but  six  thousand  less  than  the  leading  county  in  the  state  produced. 


Buncombe  County:   Econo:mic  and  Socla.l  65 

Our  need  for  hay  and  forage  amounts  to  30,000  tons;  thus  it  may  be  seen 
that  we  produce  only  two-thirds  of  what  we  need. 

Our  standing  in  total  production  of  oats  was  fair,  our  rank  being  15th. 
Nevertheless,  the  36,236  bushels  that  Buncombe  produced  goes  but  a  little 
way  toward  feeding  the  livestock  in  the  county. 

The  value  of  the  domestic  animals  of  Buncombe  county  was  $1,778,063 
and  in  this  we  rank  18th  in  the  state.  However,  there  is  one  important  thing 
to  be  considered.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  county  which  ranks  highest  in 
value  of  domestic  animals  is  Johnston,  which  is  a  cotton  county  with  10,568 
mules  but  only  8,435  cattle,  while  Buncombe  has  21,210  cattle  which  are  a 
direct  source  of  food.  The  significance  of  this  is  seen  more  clearly  when  we 
find  that  we  rank  third  in  the  total  value  of  beef  cattle,  with  a  value  of 
$279,568.  Since  Buncombe  does  not  raise  either  cotton  or  tobacco  there  is 
no  need  for  the  large  number  of  mules  which  swell  the  livestock  values  of  the 
eastern  counties. 

As  for  milk  and  other  dairy  products,  there  is  no  need  for  much  concern 
at  the  present  time,  since  Buncombe  ranks  1st  in  gallons  of  milk  sold  in 
1919,  with  over  one  million  gallons.  As  a  matter  of  fact.  Buncombe  sold 
over  15.5  percent  of  all  the  milk  sold  in  the  state,  besides  leading  every  other 
county  in  the  value  of  general  dairy  products.  However,  it  would  be  well  to 
remember  that  in  the  matter  of  dairying  North  Carolina  is  one  of  the  most 
poorly  developed  states  in  the  Union.  .■      . 

Why  We  Are  Not  Self-Supporting 

As  has  been  stated  before,  the  main  reasons  why  Buncombe  county  failed 
to  support  itself  are,  the  unusually  large  city  population,  the  absence  of 
cooperation  in  the  marketing  of  products,  and  the  lack  of  modern  methods  of 
cultivation.  Let  us  consider  the  first  of  these  conditions.  The  city  of  Ashe- 
ville,  which  is  the  county  seat  of  Buncombe,  has  a  census  popualtion  of 
about  29,000  people ;  but  this  does  not  include  a  number  of  suburban  districts 
which  bring  the  population  up  to  practically  35,000.  Now  this  means  that 
almost  half  the  population  of  Buncombe  produces  no  food  or  very  little,  but 
looks  to  the  other  half  of  the  population  for  food  supplies.  Of  course  this 
places  a  heavy  burden  upon  the  farmers  of  the  county,  who  are  called  upon 
to  raise  not  only  enough  to  feed  themselves  but  also  enough  for  the  people 
who  produce  no  food.  If  it  were  not  for  the  above  facts  Buncombe  would 
probably  lead  the  state  in  every  particular  as  a  self-feeding  community. 

The  next  reason  for  our  failure  to  be  self-supporting  is  the  lack  of 
cooperation  in  marketing  products.  While  this  condition  exists  to  a  certain 
extent  in  all  counties,  it  is  particularly  true  in  Buncombe.  Many  of  our 
farmers,  in  spite  of  education  and  other  advantages,  still  have  a  feeling  of 
distrust  and  suspicion  for  all  people  whom  they  do  not  know  intimately. 
Under  such  conditions  cooperation  will  never  thrive;  for  confidence  is  the 
basis  of  cooperation.  We  must  get  together  and  pull  together  for  mutual 
benefit.     The  farmers  should  keep  in  touch  with  the  city  merchants  and  know 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  67 

when  and  where  to  carry  their  products  in  order  to  sell  them  at  a  fair  price. 
A  tragic  and  deplorable  example  of  this  lack  of  cooperation  was  seen  in  the 
mountains  of  Buncombe  in  1920,  when  thousands  of  bushels  of  apples  rotted 
on  the  ground  while  the  wholesale  dealers  in  Asheville  were  actually  buying 
apples  from  other  sections  of  the  country.  ]\Ierchants  and  farmers  should 
organize  to  market  Buncombe  products,  not  only  to  Buncombe  people  but  to 
outsiders  as  well. 

The  third  reason  why  we  have  not  managed  to  be  self-feeding,  is  the  lack 
of  modern  methods  in  cultivation  and  farming  in  general.  The  river  bottoms 
and  valley  lands  of  Buncombe  are  as  fertile  as  any  land  in  the  state.  Yet  our 
per  acre  production  of  wheat  v/as  only  8.6  bushels,  which  gave  us  45th  place 
in  comparison  with  other  counties  of  the  state.  If  Chowan  county  can 
produce  23.1  bushels  per  acre,  Buncombe  should  be  able  at  least  to  double 
her  production  by  careful  cultivation.  Another  example  of  poor  farming  is 
the  almost  complete  absence  of  pure-bred  livestock  on  the  average  Buncombe 
county  farm.  Given  the  most  perfect  climate  in  the  world  and  the  most 
fertile  of  lands,  the  farmer  who  plows  his  land  three  inches  deep  and  who 
raises  only  scrub  livestock,  will  not  begin  to  make  the  money  he  should  make. 

Summary 

Summarizing,  it  may  be  said  that  the  conditions  which  exist  in  Bun- 
combe county  are  not  peculiar  to  this  section.  As  a  whole,  the  problem  of 
self-feeding  in  our  county  is  in  far  better  shape  than  it  is  in  most  North 
Carolina  counties.  The  fact  that  we  have  in  our  county  a  city  quite  large  for 
North  Carolina  is  the  main  reason  why  we  have  failed  to  be  self-feeding.  As 
has  been  said  before,  cooperation  between  the  farms  and  the  townspeople 
of  Buncombe  is  the  goal  toward  which  we  must  drive.  With  a  recognition 
of  our  common  interests,  we  will  gradually  become  independent  of  other 
sections  and  our  money  will  stay  in  Buncombe  county.  Without  it  we  will 
not  even  hold  our  present  position,  for  our  population  is  daily  increasing. 
No  county  in  the  state  offers  a  greater  opportunity  for  farmers  and  city 
people  to  work  together  for  the  common  interests  of  both.  Our  farmers  are 
admirably  suited  to  produce  food  and  feed  supplies.  Asheville  offers  a 
marvelous  sales  territory  for  home-grown  products,  and  she  should  capitalize 
her  advantage  by  aiding  farmers  to  market  home-grown  products.  The 
farmers  should  feed  Asheville  and  her  tourists  and  ship  food  to  other  counties 
in  the  state.  It  can  be  done  only  by  both  parties  working  together — the 
solution  lies  in  collusion,  not  collision. 

Facts  About  Food  and  Feed  Production  Based  on  the  1920  Census, 
Covering'  the  Year  1919 

87th  in     Corn  production  per  person,  bushels 10.4 

State  average,  16  bushels  per  person.  Amount  needed 
per  person  for  human  and  animal  consumption,  31 
bushels  per  year. 


68   .  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

12th  in     Total  production  of  corn,  bushels 671,522 

Robeson  county  led  the  state  with  1,376,244  bushels. 
Dare  produced  only  4,701  bushels. 

37th  in     Per  capita  production  of  wheat,  bushels 1.9 

State  average,  1.8  bushels  per  capita.  Amount  needed 
per  person,  4  bushels  per  year.  Deficit,  2.1  bushels 
per  person. 

45th  in     Per  acre  production  of  wheat,  bushels 8.6 

Chowan  county  led  with  23.1  bushels  per  acre. 

43rd  in     Per  capita  production  of  butter,  pounds 12.2 

State  average,  10  pounds  per  capita.  Amount  needed 
per  person  per  year,  48  pounds.  Deficit,  35.8  pounds 
per  person. 

75th  in     Egg  production  per  capita,  dozens 6.6 

State  average,  9.2  dozens  per  capita.  Amount  needed 
per  person  per  year,  17.5  dozens.  Deficit,  10.9  dozens 
per  person  per  year. 

14th  in     A'alue  of  chickens  and  eggs  produced,  value $300,471 

Wake  county  led  with  production  value  of  $477,568. 

95th  in     Pork  production  per  capita,  pounds 31 

State  average,  99  pounds  per  capita. 

58th  in     Increase  in  value  of  livestock,  1910-1920,  percent 68 

State  average,  85  percent  increase,  largely  mules  and 
horses  in  the  cotton  and  tobacco  belts.  Pitt  county 
leads  with  an  increase  of  170  percent,  almost  entirely 
mules  and  horses. 

3rd  in     Hay  and  forage  production,  tons 20,009 

Mecklenburg  led  with  a  production  of  26,208  tons. 
The  entire  state  produced  688,843  tons. 

15th  in     Oats  production,    bushels 36,236 

Anson  led  with  108,276  bushels.  The  state  produced 
only  1,671,308  bushels. 

9th  in     Irish  potato  production,  bushels 73,551 

'  Duplin  led  with  a  production  of  246,212  bushels. 
Dare  produced  only  1,715  bushels.  Total  state  pro- 
duction was  2,853,997  bushels,  or  a  little  more  than 
one  bushel  per  person. 

18th  in     A'alue  of  domestic  animals $1,778,063 

Johnston  led  with  animals  valued  at  $2,920,931. 
Johnston  has  10,568  mules  and  horses  and  only  8,435 
cattle.  Buncombe  has  5,875  mules  and  horses  and 
21,210  cattle.  The  domestic  animals  in  Johnston  are 
largely  work  stock.  In  Buncombe  they  are  producers 
of  food. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  69 

2nd  in     Total  value  of  cattle  in  1919 $942,885 

Ashe  led  with  cattle  valued  at  $1,169,721. 
3rd  in     Total  value  of  beef  cattle $279,568 

Two  counties,  Alleghany  and  Ashe,  rank  higher. 
2nd  in     Total  value  of  dairy  cattle  in  1919 $663,317 

Ashe  leads  again  with  a  value  of  $681,130, 
1st    in     Milk  sold  in  1919,  gallons 1,100,022 

Buncombe  sold  15.5  percent  of  all  the  milk  sold  in  the 

state  in  1919. 

1st    in     Dairy  products,  value $744,901 

96th  in     Bill  for  imported  foodstuffs  and  feed  supplies,  1919 $6,689,580 

Only  four  counties,  Mecklenburg,   Forsyth,  Guilford, 

and    Wake,    had    larger    deficits    in    home-produced 

supplies. 

FOOD  AND  FEED  NEEDS  AND  DEFICITS 
(Based  on  1920  Census) 

1.  Food  and  Feed: 

Needed— 64,148  people  @  $155  a  year $9,942,940 

5,875  work  animals  @  $78  a  year 456,250 

12,381  dairy  cattle  @  $37  a  year 458,097 

8,829  other  cattle  @  $16  a  year 141,264 

1,333  sheep  @  $3  a  year 3,999 

10,074  hogs  @  $13  a  year 130,967 

122,000  poultry  @  $0.75  a  year 91,500 

Total  food  and  feed  needed $11,225,017 

2.  Produced: 

Food  and  feed  crops $2,731,534 

Dairy  products 744,901 

Poultry  products 300,471 

-  Honey  and  wax 8,531 

Animals  sold  and  slaughtered 75n, ()()() 

Total  food  and  feed  produced $  4,535,437 


Deficit    $  6,689,580 

3.     Distribution  of  Food  and  Feed  Shortage  and  Surplus  : 

(1)  Meat     needed  for  64,148  people  @  152  lbs.,  lbs.  9,750,596 

produced  3,000  calves  @  150  lbs 450,000 

187,000  poultry  @  3.5  lbs 654,500 

13,000  other  cattle  @  350  lbs.—  4,550,000 

10,000  hogs  @  200  lbs 2,000,000 

Total  meat  produced,  lbs 7,654,500 

Deficit    2,096,096 


70  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

(2)  Butter  needed  for  64,148  people  @  48  lbs 3,078,804 

produced,  lbs. 786,512 

deficit,  lbs. 2,292,292 

(3)  Fowls  needed  for  64,148  people  (a   13  fowls 833,924 

produced,   fowls   187,000 

deficit,  fowls 646,924 

(4)  Eggs    needed  for  64,148  people  @   17^2  dozen  1,122,590 

produced,  dozen 428,000 

deficit,   dozen   694,590 

(5)  Corn     needed  for  work  stock  and  people,  bushels  1,280,000 

produced,   bushels   671,000 

deficit,   bushels ^ 609,000 

(6)  Wheat  needed  for  64,148  people  (o    4  bu.,  bus.  256,592 

produced,    bushels   123,534 

deficit,   bushels 133,058 

(7)  Hay      needed  for   5,875    work  animals,    21,210 

dairy  cows  and  beef  cattle,  tons 30,000 

produced,  tons 20,000 

deficit,  tons 10,000 

Sources  of  Inf ormatioai : 

U.  S.  Census  of  Agriculture. 

Special    Files,   Department   of   Rural   Social   Economics,    University   of 
North  Carolina. 


IX 

LIVESTOCK  AND  FRUITS 


F.  J.  HERRON,  Biltmore 

Livestock 

Buncombe  is  one  of  the  best  beef-producing  counties  in  the  state,  yet 
there  are  large  areas  of  mountain  land  not  capable  of  cultivation  which  should 
be  converted  into  pasture  lands.  Large  boundaries  of  cut-over  timber  lands, 
if  properly  sowed  in  orchard  grass,  would  accommodate  more  large  herds, 
and  would  cut  down  the  use  of  winter  feeds  to  a  minimum.  Winter  pasturage 
and  silage  feed  for  winter  maintenance  will  solve  the  main  difficulty  of  the 
cattle  growers,  and  with  the  mild  winters  allowing  almost  year-around 
grazing,  beef  production  and  dairying  will  rapidly  develop.  The  native 
cattle  at  present  represent  a  mixed  breed  of  Hereford,  Devon,  Jersey,  Angus, 
and  Shorthorn.  However,  much  interest  is  being  shown  in  developing  pure- 
bred herds.  Land  for  grazing  can  be  bought  very  reasonably,  and  with  our 
climatic  and  geographical  advantages.  Buncombe  should  become  a  leading 
beef-producing  center.  The  next  great  question  is  cooperative  marketing 
which  must  be  developed  to  encourage  this  industry. 

Sheep  raising  is  also  a  growing  industry  in  Buncombe.  The  rough  and 
steep  pasture  lands,  that  cannot  be  successfully  used  for  beef  and  dairy 
cattle,  are  profitable  for  sheep  raising.  With  the  climatic  conditions  favoring 
the  production  of  high-grade  wool,  and  the  ready  market  it  finds  in  the 
woolen  industries,  and  with  the  large  demand  for  mutton,  the  sheep  industry 
affords  a  broad  field  for  future  development.  The  common  sheep  diseases  are 
scarcely  known  in  the  mountain  counties.  For  many  years  dogs  have  been  the 
greatest  handicap  to  the  sheep  industry  in  Buncombe  county,  but  with  the 
enactment  in  1919  by  the  legislature  of  the  "Sheep  and  Dog  Control  Law," 
which  gives  the  much-needed  protection  to  the  sheep  growers,  we  may  hope  for 
a  steady  growth  of  this  profitable  industry.  The  number  of  sheep  in  this 
county  in  1919  was  about  the  same  as  in  1860. 

For  the  greatest  profit,  poultry  raising  in  Buncombe  county  is  unexcelled. 
Land,  water,  climate,  natural  food  supply,  and  markets  go  to  encourage  the 
poultryman.  Due  to  the  large  number  of  tourists  and  hospitals  Asheville 
probably  has  the  largest  market  for  fresh  eggs  in  the  South,  and  an  excellent 
foreign  trade.  The  increasing  demands  for  standard  eggs  on  the  market 
induce  the  farmers  to  supplant  scrub  flocks  with  pure-bred,  and  this  means  a 
vast  improvement  in  the  poultry  business  of  the  county. 

Pork  production  has  been  greatly  discouraged  because  of  poor  marketing. 
In  1919  there  were  13,847  hogs  less  than  in  1860,  yet  through  pig  clubs  and 


72  .  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

with  better  marketing  conditions,  Buncombe  should  improve  her  opportunity 
in  hog  raising. 

In  1920  beef  cattle  in  this  county  number  8,829  valued  at  $279,568.  Sheep 
numbered  1,333,  valued  at  $13,093.  There  were  3,967  pounds  of  wool  pro- 
duced, valued  at  $2,130.  Swine  numbered  10,074,  valued  at  $149,661,  while 
there  were  427,988  dozen  eggs  produced,  and  186,926  chickens,  with  a  total 
value  of  $200,471.    Horses  and  mules  numbered  5,875,  valued  at  $669,905. 

Dairying-  and  Cheese  Industry 

As  the  demand  for  dairy  products  steadily  increases,  so  the  dairying 
business  in  Buncombe  increases.  Asheville  alone  consumes  more  dairy 
products  than  any  other  place  in  North  Carolina.  Most  of  these  products 
come  from  within  a  radius  of  15  miles.  The  mixed  scrub  herds  of  dairy 
cattle  are  fast  being  replaced  by  thorough-bred,  as  Holstein  and  Jersey. 
By  this  means  more  milk  is  produced  with  less  labor  and  feed.  A  splendid 
market  is  being  created  for  Buncombe's  dairy  products.  There  are  76 
wholesale  and  27  retail  dairies  already  in  the  Asheville  district. 

In  1919  the  sale  of  milk  amounted  to  $840,000  in  the  county,  and  50 
additional  dairy  farms  have  increased  the  county's  total  value,  with  equipment 
and  stock  each  worth  from  $5,000  to  $10,000. 

A  great  deal  depends  on  the  creameries  to  take  care  of  the  surplus  milk 
which  amounts  to  8,000  gallons  per  day.  There  are  four  creameries,  two  large 
and  two  small  ones,  which  have  been  handling  the  output.  The  Carolina 
Creamery  in  Asheville  and  the  Biltmore  Dairy  at  Biltmore  utilize  a  large 
part  of  the  surplus  in  manufacturing  creamery  butter  and  cheese.  Asheville 
uses  from  8,000  to  10,000  pounds  daily,  while  only  2,000  to  3,000  pounds  are 
produced  in  Buncombe  county.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  local  butter 
supply  cannot  be  increased  so  as  to  cut  down  the  imported  supply.  And  with 
creamery  butter  selling  for  50  cents  per  pound  this  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
financial  possibility  in  the  manufacturing  of  butter  and  cheese.  Not  only 
does  dairying  pay  in  itself,  but  it  builds  up  the  farming  lands. 

Buncombe  by  law  requires  her  certified-milk  producers  to  live  up  to 
certain  standards  of  cleanliness,  and  a  recent  pure-milk  law  requires  concrete 
floors  for  all  dairy  barns  and  a  health  test  made  of  all  the  herd. 

There  is  also  a  great  opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  cheese 
industry,  which  is  being  stimulated  because  of  more  and  better  dairy  cattle. 
Cheese-making  is  also  important  in  that  it  takes  care  of  the  surplus  milk 
during  the  summer  months.  About  25  years  ago  cheese-making  in  this  county 
was  an  important  industry,  but  it  died  out  and  only  recently  has  it  revived 
with  renewed  interest.  Today  Buncombe  county  has  35  of  the  54  cheese 
factories  of  the  entire  South.  The  climatic  conditions  in  the  mountains  are 
favorable  to  cheese-making  in  that  the  cool  mornings  enable  the  farmers  to 
deliver  sweet  milk  direct  to  the  factory  and  this  makes  possible  the  manu- 
facture of  high-grade  cheese.  And  with  the  attention  that  is  given  to  dairy- 
ing and  marketing,  this  is  becoming  a  profitable  business. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  73 

Because  of  the  good  quality,  our  cheese  finds  a  ready  market,  as  there 
is  a  big  demand  among  the  packers  and  wholesale  dealers,  north  and  south. 
At  the  South-Eastern  Fair  in  Atlanta  in  1915  Buncombe  cheese  from  the 
Democrat  Cheese  F'actory  took  first  prize  in  competition  with  Wisconsin 
cheese.  Cooperative  cheese  factories  pay  handsome  prices  for  their  milk 
and  require  tlie  farmers  to  maintain  better  and  more  sanitary  facilities.  The 
main  difficulty  heretofore  has  been  in  securing  trained  cheese  workers,  but 
within  the  near  future  this  industry  will  be  a  source  of  wealth,  as  well  as  a 
food  supply,  in  Western  North  Carolina. 

Buncombe  County's  Dairy  Products  in  1919 

Milk  produced,  gallons 3,204,452 

Milk  sold,   gallons 1,100,022 

Cream  sold,  gallons 813 

Butter  fat  sold,  pounds 8,773 

Butter  made  on  farms,  pounds 786,512 

Butter  sold,  pounds 358,614 

Average  production  of  milk  per  cow,  gallons 404 

Value  of  dairy  products $744,901 

Receipts  from  sale  of  products $540,936 

Dairy  Cattle  in  1920 

Calves  under  1  year 2,639 

Heifers  between  1  and  2  years 1,589 

Cows  and  heifers,  2  years  and  over 7,591 

Bulls,   1   year  and  over 162 

Total  number 12,381 

Total  value  $663,317 

Horticulture 

Western  North  Carolina  stands  high  in  the  Nation  as  a  fruit-growing 
section,  and  Buncombe  county  represents  all  the  natural  conditions  for  this 
development.  According  to  C.  D.  Mathews,  acting  State  Horticulturist,  Bun- 
combe county  and  Western  North  Carolina  is  a  land  of  opportunity  for  apple 
growers,  owing  to  the  natural  advantages  of  soil,  climate,  topography,  alti- 
tude, and  rainfall.  The  mountain  soil  belongs  very  largely  to  the  Porter 
series,  which  is  so  famous  for  producing  fruit  of  the  finest  quality.  The  cool 
climate  and  high  altitude  promote  excellent  growth  and  with  the  high  altitude 
come  clear  air,  long  growing  season,  water  and  air  drainage,  and  plenty  of 
sunshine  to  give  the  fruit  a  rich  color  and  excellent  flavor.  For  many  years 
Buncombe  has  been  spoken  of  in  terms  of  climate,  scenery,  health,  and 
recreation,  and  if  the  people  will  awake  to  the  opportunity  of  fruit-growing 
Buncombe  will  have  a  fruit  industry  of  national  reputation.  There  is  no 
reason  for  North  Carolina  citizens  to  buy  Pacific  fruit  when  there  is  so  great 
an  opportunity  for  developing  a  fruit  and  marketing  system  in  Western  North 
Carolina  that  would  equal  any  in  the  North  and  West. 


74  Buncombe  County:   Econoaiic  and  Social 

Apples,  peaches,  grapes,  berries,  and  other  fruits  find  ideal  growing 
conditions  in  the  county.  One  of  the  many  orchards  already  in  progress 
contains  23,000  trees  and  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  entire  South.  The 
fruit  orchards  in  this  county  contain  305,200  trees  and  only  Wilkes  county 
has  a  larger  number. 

Proof  of  our  great  possibilities  for  unexcelled  apple  growth  has  been 
shown  in  recent  state  and  national  apple  shows. 

The  greatest  criticism  of  the  present  fruit  growers  in  Western  North 
Carolina  lies  in  the  neglect  of  proper  care  of  orchards  in  pruning,  spraying, 
and  using  a  poor  system,  or  no  system,  of  marketing  the  finished  product.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  for  every  20,000  trees  well  cared  for  30,000  are  neg- 
lected. The  main  commercial  orchards  have  from  6,000  to  8,000  trees,  pro- 
ducing 7,000  to  8,000  bushels  per  year  at  a  rate  of  90c  per  bushel.  With 
scientific  pruning,  spraying,  and  a  good  system  of  grading  and  marketing, 
apples  would  sell  up  to  $3.50  a  bushel. 

There  are  large  areas  of  good  orchard  land  undeveloped  that  car^  be 
bought  for  from  $15.00  to  $50.00  per  acre  within  a  reasonable  distance  to  a 
market  or  shipping  point. 

When  the  orchards  are  kept  in  the  proper  condition  the  next  thing  of 
importance  is  the  perfection  of  a  cooperative  marketing  system  for  the  apples 
by  the  standardized  grade,  packages,  and  selling  methods  so  as  to  secure 
prices  equal  to  those  of  the  North-West  fancy  apples.  Another  important 
thing  is  to  advertise  through  our  tourists,  shipping  and  packing  houses. 
There  should  also  be  an  increase  of  cold  storage  facilities  organized  by  the 
fruit  growers. 

Some  good  varieties  that  bear  well  in  Buncombe  and  other  western 
counties  are  Stayman  Winesap,  Stark's  Delicious,  Rome  Beauty,  Limber 
Twigs,  Bonums,  and  York  Imperials.  With  development  in  orchard  capacity 
and  selling  methods,  this  powerful  industry  of  fruit  growing  should  become 
a  solid  commercial  asset  to  Buncombe  county. 

Sources  of  Information : 

Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Asheville  Citizen.  '  ■  ,        , 

Census  Report  of  1920.  , 


CO-OPERATIVE  MARKETING 


F.  J.  HERRON,  Biltmore 

As  has  already  been  stated  in  a  previous  chapter  in  this  bulletin,  one  of 
the  greatest  problems  in  developing  Buncombe  into  a  greater  industrial  county 
is  the  perfecting  of  a  system  of  cooperative  marketing  among  the  farmers. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  Buncombe  county  with  all  its  natural  con- 
ditions has  the  opportunity  for  developing  as  large  a  variety  of  industries  as 
any  other  county  in  the  United  States.  It  is  true  that  Buncombe  already  has 
the  best  local  market  in  the  state,  but  with  almost  unlimited  possibilities  for 
more  and  greater  industries,  both  rural  and  urban,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
marketing  system  that  would  not  only  supply  our  local  markets,  but  would 
enable  us  to  ship  a  greater  amount  of  produce  to  other  markets  in  the  South 
for  prices  that  would  compete  with  the  markets  of  the  North  and  the  West. 
The  cooperative  organization  that  I  have  in  mind  is  one  for  the  benefit  of  all 
that  belong  to  it,  and  especially  the  farmers  and  laboring  classes  who  have 
been  so  long  unorganized:  an  organization  on  a  business  and  scientific  basis 
for  selling  farm  products  and  buying  supplies  for  the  country  home  and  farm. 

In  order  to  have  such  an  organization  it  is  necessary  to  have  first,  a 
sufficient  business  locality;  second,  confidence  in  a  cooperative  organization; 
third,  competent  leadership.  A  great  many  failures  heretofore  have  been  due 
to  the  lack  of  sufficient  business  to  warrant  a  cooperative  marketing  organi- 
zation. When  such  an  attempt  is  made  with  a  limited  amount  of  business 
development,  the  cost  of  operation  usually  exceeds  the  profit  gained  by  private 
concerns,  consequently  the  members  lose  faith  in  the  organization  and  it  fails. 

The  approved  plan  to  secure  a  sufficient  business  is  to  form  contracts 
between  farmers  and  their  local  associations  as  in  the  successful  California 
cooperative  organizations,  and  many  others  in  the  central  states.  A  good 
example  would  be  the  organized  potato  growers  of  Michigan  and  Minnesota. 

Next  to  a  sufficient  business  comes  confidence  in  the  organization.  Unless 
the  farmers  have  confidence  in  a  cooperative  movement  and  put  their  shoulders 
together  in  sharing  the  burden  and  profit  alike,  it  will  not  be  a  success.  The 
third  prerequisite  is  leadership,  which  I  shall  speak  of  later  on  in  the  chapter. 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  fundamental  principles  upon  which  a 
cooperative  union  is  based. 

1.  Restrict  membership  to  patrons  only. 

2.  Limit  o'wnership  of  capital. 

3.  Fixed  rate  of  interest  on  capital. 


BuNco:srBE  County:    Economic  and  Social  77 

4.  Profits  should  go  to  members  only.  .       '       ■ 

5.  Each  member  to  have  only  one  vote. 

6.  Cooperation  on  some  special  crop  or  industry. 

7.  Agree  on  a  special  and  convenient  locality. 

8.  The  membership  must  be  binding,  and  not  merely  voluntary. 
These  principles  are  absolutely  necessary  in  the  foundation  of  a  successful 

cooperative  marketing  system.  We  shall  now  consider,  very  briefly,  each  one 
separately. 

First,  membership  must  be  restricted  to  patrons  only,  who  are  willing  to 
put  their  support  into  the  organization  and  share  the  obligations  as  well  as 
the  profit.    But  every  farmer  should  be  a  member. 

Second,  the  ownership  of  capital  must  be  limited  to  a  reasonable  number 
of, shares  in  order  to  prevent  a  few  members  from  monopolizing  the  business. 
The  purpose  of  this  organization  must  be  to  serve  the  masses  of  laboring 
humanity  and  not  a  few  capitalists. 

Third,  a  fixed  rate  of  interest,  as  six  percent,  should  be  paid  on  the 
invested  capital  to  prevent  the  cooperation  from  becoming  a  corporation. 
Each  member  should  receive  dividends  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness he  does  with  the  organization.    This  is  called  patronage  dividend. 

Fourth,  profits  should  go  to  members  only.  There  is  no  argument  for 
allowing  non-members,  who  are  unwilling  to  give  their  support  to  the  organi- 
zation, to  share  the  profits.  When  the  operating  expenses  have  been  paid  the 
profits  should  go  in  part  to  build  up  a  reserve  or  sinking  fund,  partly  for 
educational  publicity,  and  the  major  portion  distributed,  in  cash,  directly  to 
the  members. 

Fifth,  each  member  should  have  only  one  vote  regardless  of  how  many 
shares  he  owns  or  how  much  capital  he  has  invested.  This  enables  all  mem- 
bers to  have  an  equal  voice  in  controlling  the  organization. 

Sixth,  cooperation  on  some  special  crop  or  industry  would  be  the  simplest 
form  of  cooperation  and  could  be  successful  in  a  community  where  a  large 
variety  of  products  handled  could  not. 

Seventh,  agree  on  a  special  and  convenient  locality  in  order  to  centralize 
the  organization  and  specialize  on  the  conditions  peculiar  to  that  specific 
locality  and  develop  the  crop  or  industry  that  is  most  desirable. 

Eighth,  membership  must  be  binding  and  not  merely  voluntary;  if  mem- 
bers are  allowed  to  join  and  withdraw  when  they  please  there  would  be  no 
organization,  or  else  it  would  be  subject  to  a  panic  at  any  time.  Nobody 
would  be  responsible,  there  would  be  no  obligation  on  anyone  to  bear  the 
burden  during  a  slump  in  business.  For  example,  if  some  members  saw  that 
they  could  market  a  commodity  through  *a  local  concern  for  a  small  profit 
more  than  the  union  was  paying,  they  would  simply  withdraw  for  the  time- 
being,  regardless  of  how  much  depended  on  their  portion  in  completing  a 
large  shipment.  Then  when  the  organization  was  paying  higher  prices  they 
would  join  again.  Such  an  irregular  state  of  affairs  would  be  disastrous  to 
the  organization  in   its  very   infancy.     Therefore  it   is  absolutely  necessary. 


78  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

as  a  business  policy,  for  a  cooperative  market  to  have  cooperation  in  definite 
terms  by  all  its  members  in  order  to  be  a  successful  enterprise. 

These  principles  constitute  the  foundation  of  a  cooperative  marketing 
organization.  The  success  of  an  organization  of  this  nature  depends  upon 
the  loyal  support  of  citizens  who  will  thoroughly  cooperate  in  buying  and 
selling  through  the  organization. 

To  have  loyalty  and  cooperative  fellowship  necessitates  good  leadership 
with  operating  efficiency  as  follows: 

1.  Qualified  management. 

2.  Sufficient  capital. 

3.  Adequate  business. 

4.  Modern  marketing  methods. 

5.  Standardized  produce. 

Qualified  management  is  possiblv  the  greatest  factor  in  operating  effi- 
ciency. A  good  manager  must  have  (1)  administrative  ability,  (2)  power 
to  analyze  difficult  situations  and  handle  the  problems  with  sound  judgment, 
(3)  initiative  and  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  business,  (4)  ability  to  deal  with 
employees  and  customers.  Very  few  managers  meet  these  requirements,  and 
those  who  are  qualified  must  be  paid  high  prices;  but  they  are  cheaper  in 
the  end. 

Next  in  importance  is  sufficient  capital.  No  organization  can  develop 
without  a  certain  amount  of  financial  resource. 

An  adequate  business  is  necessary  because  it  is  cheaper  to  buy  in  large 
quantities.     It  is  also  more  economical  to  sell  in  large  quantities. 

Modern  marketing  methods  are  needed  to  secure  the  best  prices  available 
at  the  least  expense  of  handling  and  transportation. 

Lastly,  standardized  produce  is  necessary  to  build  up  a  sound  and  depend- 
able marketing  system.  The  produce  must  be  of  a  standard  quality,  carefully 
graded  and  carefully  shipped. 

These  are  the  fundamental  principles  and  methods  upon  which  successful 
cooperative  marketing  organizations  are  based  and  controlled.  Where  these 
principles  and  methods  have  been  strictly  adhered  to  the  organizations  have 
proven  successful,  but  where  part  or  all  have  been  neglected  they  have  in- 
variably failed. 

The  Farmers'  Federation  • ' 

I  think  the  nearest  approach  to  an  ideal  farmers'  cooperative  organization, 
for  the  combined  industries  in  Buncombe  county,  is  the  Farmers'  Federation 
which  is  now  in  full  operation  on  the  Fairview  siding  near  Biltmore.  It  is 
the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  organized  in  Buncombe  county.  This  organization 
has  been  under  successful  operation  for  about  three  years  and  is  continually 
growing.  The  warehouse  has  been  enlarged  to  twice  its  original  capacity,  and 
a  large  air-t'ght  rotato  house  has  been  built  to  store  up  potatoes  in  the  fall 
until  thc\'  find  a  rood  market  and  prices  go  higher.     Six  men  and  three  large 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  79 

delivery  trucks  are  employed  to  handle  the  busmess.  The  capital  stock  has 
already  run  up  into  the  thousands. 

This  organization  is  operated  on  principles  and  methods  similar  to 
those  above  mentioned,  only  the  Federation  is  incorporated  under  the  state 
laws,  in  the  form  of  a  stock  company,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
divided  into  one  thousand  shares  of  fifty  dollars  each.  The  company  elects 
a  board  of  five  directors  each  year  including  a  president,  vice-president,  and 
secretary-treasurer.  The  Federation  is  more  complicated  in  that  it  deals  with 
a  large  variety,  of  industries  and  crops,  such  as  potatoes,  cabbage,  butter, 
eggs,  fruit,  beef  cattle,  wood  and  lumber.  The  Federation  pays  six  percent 
interest  on  paid-up  stock  and  five  percent  dividend  on  the  business  done  by 
each  stockholder,  through  the  company.  Also  there  is  a  great  advantage  in 
buying  feed,  fertilizer,  and  raw  material  in  carload  lots.  The  Federation  has 
recently  ordered  a  carload  of  certified  Irish  cobbler  seed  potatoes.  They  are 
easily  raised  and  very  productive  in  Buncombe  county.  There  are  hundreds 
of  carloads  of  Northern  potatoes  sold  in  the  South  each  year.  Buncombe  can 
get  a  large  portion  of  that  Northern  trade,  save  the  consumer  money,  and 
develop  an  industry  of  great  wealth  by  growing  potatoes  and  marketing  them 
through  the  Federation.  This  farmers'  organization  is  rapidly  spreading  to 
other  parts  of  the  country.  There  are  already  two  other  branch  warehouses 
fully  equipped  and  in  operation.  One  is  located  at  Craggy  Station  and  the 
other  at  Stony  Knob  near  Weaverville. 

The  Federation  is  fortunate  in  having  for  its  president  Rev.  James  G.  K. 
McClure,  Jr.,  of  Fairview,  who  is  not  only  a  good  minister,  but  a  scientific 
farmer,  diligent  in  business  and  a  leader  of  men.  The  founding  of  this 
organization  was  due  very  largely  to  the  efficient  leadership  of  President 
McClure. 

The  1921  annual  report  of  the  business  accomplished  through  warehouse 
No.  1  on  the  Fairview  siding,  shows  that  $1,370.90  has  been  accredited  to  the 
stockholders,  and  $1,167.83  to  surplus.  The  paid-up  stock  on  April  15,  1922, 
totaled  816,371.56.  The  total  capital  now  invested  is  519,586.74  and  the 
total  liabilities  and  capital  together  are  $41,338.50.  The  report  from  the  other 
two  warehouses  is  not  available  at  this  time. 

Sources  of  Information : 

Rural  Social  Economics  Files,  University  of  North  Carolina. 
Farview  Farmers'  Federation  News. 


XI  ■       .     > 

THINGS  TO  BE  PROUD  OF  IN  BUNCOMBE 


ARTUS  M.  MOSER,  Swannanoa,  N.  C. 

The  people  of  Buncombe  county  have  a  right  to  pride  themselves  in 
many  things,  especially  in  the  abundance  of  natural  resources,  in  transporta- 
tion facilities,  in  agricultural  possibilities  and  opportunities,  and  in  educa- 
tional development.  Buncombe  is  rich  in  natural  beauty,  in  climate,  in  fertility 
of  soils,  in  water-power  and  forests.  It  is  also  rich  in  its  history,  in  its  heroic 
deeds  and  great  men,  and  in  its  social  and  economic  advantages. 

Natural  Beauty  and  Scenery 

The  natural  beauty  of  this  section  is  probably  not  surpassed  and  seldom 
equalled  by  any  other  in  America.  Throughout  its  boundary  are  many  beauti- 
ful mountains,  fertile  valleys,  and  clear  streams.  Such  valleys  as  those  of  the 
French  Broad,  the  Swannanoa,  Reems  creek.  Hominy,  Gashes  creek,  and 
Fairview,  are  particularly  noted  for  their  picturesque  scenery. 

Our  mountains  have  always  been  a  source  of  great  pride.  Because  of 
them  and  the  many  other  attractions  associated  with  them,  this  section  has 
become  the  Mecca  of  thousands  of  tourists  and  visitors  each  season  from 
everywhere. 

Chief  among  the  mountains  of  Buncombe  is  Mt.  Pisgah,  5,749  feet  above 
sea-level.  From  the  top  of  this  mountain  one  has  a  marvelous  view  of  forest- 
covered  mountains,  rugged  cliffs,  and  distant  valleys.  A  fine  motor  road  leads 
from  Asheville  to  its  top,  some  26  miles,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  delights  of 
the  tourist.  The  mountain  and  vicinity  are  included  in  the  Pisgah  National 
Forest,  which  comprises  some  80,000  acres.  This  area  was  formerly  a  part 
of  the  great  Vanderbilt  estate,  but  was  purchased  by  the  Government  some 
years  ago,  and  has  since  been  made  into  a  national  forest  and  game  preserve. 

The  scenic  motor  road  to  IMt.  Mitchell,  which,  for  the  most  part  passes 
through  Buncombe,  is  also  a  source  of  great  pride.  Mt.  Mitchell,  6,711  feet 
above  the  sea,  the  highest  mountain  east  of  the  Mississippi,  is  about  39  miles 
northeast  of  Asheville  and  just  over  the  Buncombe  line  in  Yancey  county. 
Because  of  the  motor  road  and  the  nearness  and  easy  access  of  this  wonderful 
mountain,  the  Buncombe  people  feel  that  much  of  its  attrartion  belongs  to 
them. 

Proud  of  Climate 

The  climate  of  Buncombe  is  also  a  source  of  great  pride.  Owing  to  the 
surrounding  mountains  the  winters  are  temperate  and  the  high  altitude  causes 
the  summers  to  be  cool  and  pleasant.     The  mean  temperature  is  55  degrees. 


82  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

The  hieh  altitude  and  abundance  of  pure  water  are  very  conducive  to 
health.  There  is  absolute  freedom  from  malaria  due  to  excellent  drainage 
by  the  French  Broad  river  and  other  smaller  streams,  which  prevents  mos- 
quitoes. In  the  country  regions  every  farmer  has  either  a  well  or  a  spring, 
and  it  is  to  these  sources  of  pure  water  supply  that  much  of  the  hardiness 
and  good  health  of  the  people  of  this  section  can  be  attributed. 

Crops 

The  soils  of  Buncombe  are  very  fertile,  making  it  an  excellent  potential 
farming  area.  It  already  ranks  high  as  a  farming  section,  especially  in  the 
production  of  corn,  wheat,  vegetables,  and  fruit.  This  county  leads  in  the 
industries  of  trucking  and  gardening.  It  is  especially  adapted  to  trucking, 
and  the  people  are  taking  greater  advantage  of  the  opportunities  which  this 
industry  affords  than  ever  before. 

While  the  farmers  in  the  past  have  not  attempted  to  raise  a  large  surplus 
to  supply  distant  markets,  it  is  obvious  that  there  is  great  opportunity  for 
such  a  venture.  We  can  produce  on  our  farms  practically  all  the  staple 
supplies  that  our  county  needs,  and  much  more.  The  field  is  a  wide  one  for 
the  growing  of  winter  apples,  for  dairy  products,  for  vegetable  growing,  and 
for  canning  establishments. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  large  quantities  of  vegetables  must  be  shipped 
into  Buncombe  from  other  sections  each  year,  when  the  farmers  of  the  county 
could  supply  this  demand  and  reap  a  good  profit.  This  lays  the  county  open 
to  severe  criticism.  It  should  not  be  the  case.  Our  farms  may  be  made  just  as 
productive  as  any  and  the  market  is  at  our  doors. 

Fruit  Growing- 

Of  all  the  advantages  of  which  Buncombe  can  boast  probably  there  is 
none  greater  or  more  important  than  the  opportunity  for  the  production  of 
fine  apples  and  other  fruits.  The  State  and  United  States  Boards  of  Agri- 
culture have  said  that  this  section  is  the  home  of  the  apple  and  destined  to 
become  the  greatest  apple-growing  region  in  America  when  its  capabilities 
are  fully  realized.  The  opportunities  for  this  industry  are  as  yet  hardly 
touched,  but  there  are  many  farmers  who,  realizing  the  possibilities,  are  using 
modern  scientific  methods  in  their  orchards,  and  the  apples  from  these 
orchards,  when  put  in  competition  with  those  from  any  other  section,  always 
win.  Apples  from  Buncombe  county  and  Western  North  Carolina  take  the 
sweepstakes  at  national  apple  shows,  and  at  the  State  Fairs  in  Raleigh. 

This  region  is  so  well  adapted  to  apple  growing  that  in  a  good  fruit  year 
thousands  of  bushels  of  fine  apples  are  left  lying  on  the  ground  to  rot.  This 
is  evidence  that  a  better  marketing  system  should  be  worked  out. 

The  Western  North  Carolina  apple  show  is  doing  much  each  year  to  en- 
courage and  stimulate  the  production  of  more  and  better  apples  and  to  im- 
press the  public  with  the  possibilities  of  this  industry  in  this  section.  It  is 
hoped  that  this  work  will  continue. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  83 

Live  Stock  and  Dairying 

Live  stock  and  dairying  are  two  industries  that  are  well  adapted  to  this 
county.  The  winters  are  comparatively  mild,  enabling  the  farmers  to  let 
their  cattle  stay  out  for  a  large  part  of  the  winter.  Besides,  in  many  of  our 
rich  coves  and  valleys,  owing  to  the  shelter  of  surrounding  mountains,  grazing 
is  good  throughout  almost  the  entire  year.  Because  of  these  advantages, 
Buncombe  is  one  of  the  leading  beef-producing  counties  of  Western  North 
Carolina. 

However,  dairying  stands  out  as  probably  the  most  important  phase  of 
our  live  stock  industry.  Throughout  the  county  there  are  scattered  many 
large  dairies.  This  has  enabled  Asheville  to  become  the  largest  consumer  of 
milk  and  butter  of  any  city  in  North  Carolina.  There  are  now  more  than 
1,000  pure-bred  Holsteins  and  many  hundreds  of  pure-bred  Jerseys  in  the 
county.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  only  a  few  years  until  all  the  dairymen  will 
have  pure-bred  cattle. 

Cheese-making  in  Buncombe  has  not  as  yet  taken  on  a  great  deal  of 
importance,  but  there  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  this  industry  and  it 
should  become  a  leading  one.  This  industry  has  opened  another  door  to  the 
farmer  through  which  he  may  reap  great  profit.  Climatic  conditions  are 
such  that  many  of  the  difficulties  found  in  New  York  and  Wisconsin  of 
producing  cheese  of  high  quality  are  unknown  to  the  dairyman  of  Buncombe. 
With  excellent  pastures  and  near  markets,  this  is  one  of  the  promising 
industries  of  the  future.  There  are  already  about  35  cheese  factories  in  the 
Asheville  district  of  Western  North  Carolina,  and,  as  there  is  a  big  demand 
for  cheese,  the  farmers  have  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  form  cooperative 
cheese  factories. 

Sheep  Industry- 
Sheep  also  thrive  in  Buncombe  county.  On  the  sides  of  the  hills  and 
mountains  and  in  the  fertile  valleys  are  pastures  amid  conditions  which  make 
sheep  raising  profitable.  At  the  present  time  this  industry  is  not  being 
developed  as  it  should  be ;  but  a  new  impetus  has  been  given  it  by  the  North 
Carolina  Animal  Husbandry  Division,  and  by  the  Asheville  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  which  have  been  instrumental  in  bringing  several  fine  flocks  into 
this  section.  A  campaign  for  the  establishing  of  this  industry  included  the 
enactment  by  the  1919  Legislature  of  the  sheep-and-dog-control  law  which 
gives  protection  to  sheep  owners  and  means  a  greater  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  the  sheep  industry  in  Buncombe. 

Poultry  Raising' 

This  section  is  also  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  poultry.  Many  farmers 
have  large  flocks  of  thoroughbred  chickens. 

Education 

As  has  been  stated  elsewhere  in  this  bulletin,  Buncombe  county  ranks 
high   in  educational  matters.     Our  rural  and  city  school  systems  are  now 


84  Buncombe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

among  the  best  in  the  state.  The  rural  schools  are  becoming  better  each  year. 
Every  year  sees  new  high  school  buildings  under  construction,  more  districts 
consolidated,  and  new  movements  inaugurated  for  still  better  schools. 

Some  of  the  preparatory  schools  and  higher  institutions  in  which  Bun- 
combe takes  pride  are:  Weaver  College;  St.  Genevieves-of-the-Pines,  a 
leading  college  for  women  in  Western  North  Carolina ;  the  Asheville  Normal, 
one  of  the  leading  institutions  of  its  kind  in  North  Carolina;  Asheville 
School  for  Boys  at  Sulphur  Springs,  one  of  the  best  preparatory  schools  in 
the  South;  the  Asheville  School  for  Girls;  and  Bingham  Military  School, 
one  of  the  oldest  and  best  military  schools  in  the  country. 

Water  Power 

The  potential  water  power  in  Buncombe  is  abundant,  and  has  as  yet  been 
only  slightly  utilized.  Streams  are  bold,  free,  and  numerous;  the  water  is 
clear  and  pure.  The  French  Broad,  Swannanoa,  and  numerous  smaller 
streams  flow  through  the  county  and  offer  many  advantages  for  the  con- 
struction of  dams  for  electrical  power  plants.  The  United  States  Geological 
Survey  has  estimated  that  within  a  radius  of  40  miles  of  Asheville  the 
mountain  streams  will  total  over  550,000  horse-power,  of  which  only  about 
42,000  have  been  developed  so  far.  There  is  power  enough  in  Buncombe 
alone,  if  it  were  utilized,  to  give  light  and  power  to  every  community  and 
home  in  the  entire  western  part  of  the  State. 

The  Asheville  Power  and  Light  Company,  a  few  miles  below  Asheville, 
on  the  French  Broad  river,  furnishes  22  miles  of  street  railway  service, 
electric  light  and  power  service,  and  gas  for  more  than  2,000  gas  stoves  in 
Asheville,  besides  furnishing  electric  current  for  a  large  number  of  private 
homes  and  for  many  other  purposes.  This  is  a  good  example  of  what  may  be 
done  with  our  water  power  if  we  will  put  it  to  work.  There  is  sufficient 
water  power  to  furnish  every  community  with  adequate  light  and  power  if  it 
were  only  utilized. 

Crood  Roads 

Buncombe  County  not  only  leads  the  state  in  good  roads,  but  it  leads 
the  entire  South.  There  are  164  miles  of  paved  highways  besides  hundreds 
of  miles  of  very  good  unpaved  roads.  Good  roads  have  been  the  main 
factors  in  making  the  county  what  it  is.  With  Asheville  as  a  center,  they 
branch  out  in  every  direction,  linking  Buncombe  with  all  the  western 
counties.  The  organizations  which  have  done  much  for  Buncombe  county 
in  the  encouragement  of  good  roads  are  the  Asheville  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
the  Rotary  Club,  the  Civitan  and  Kiwanis  Clubs,  and  the  Good  Roads  Asso- 
ciation. Our  citizens  have  come  to  realize  that  good  roads  mean  better 
schools  and  greater  community  development.  The  enthusiasm  for  more  good 
roads  is  still  very  active  and  it  is  predicted  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when 
all  the  roads  of  Buncombe  will  be  paved  and  not  a  community  will  be  without 
a  good  highway. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  85 

Railroads 

Buncombe  county  is  well  served  with  railway  facilities,  four  lines  coming 
into  Asheville  from  as  many  directions.  These  connect  the  county  with  every 
part  of  the  state  and  nation.  Its  freight  and  passenger  service  is  probably 
unequalled  by  any  city  of  its  size  in  the  South. 

Towns  and  Cities 

The  people  of  Buncombe  are  proud  of  Asheville.  They  are  also  proud 
of  Biltmore,  Black  IMountain,  and  many  other  smaller  towns  and  villages 
scattered  throughout  the  county. 

Asheville  is  not  only  the  capital  of  Buncombe,  but  is  also  the  business, 
social,  and  educational  center  of  this  entire  mountain  section.  It  is  a  modern, 
up-to-date  city,  with  52  miles  of  paved  streets,  80  miles  of  paved  sidewalks, 
and  one  of  the  best  sources  of  pure- water  supply  in  America.  The  gravity 
lines  are  laid  deep  in  the  ground  for  a  distance  of  18  miles  to  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Swannanoa  river,  and  to  Bee  Tree  creek,  which  have  their  sources  in 
the  Craggies  and  far  up  toward  the  top  of  Mt.  Mitchell. 

Asheville  is  on  a  great  plateau,  surrounded  by  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
mountain  scenery  on  the  continent.  It  is  a  growing,  energetic  city  of  40,000 
population,  including  suburbs.  It  has  all  the  essentials  of  any  progressive 
city,  daily  newspapers,  chamber  of  commerce,  parks,  an  excellent  system  of 
city  schools,  public  library,  merchants'  association,  social  clubs,  fraternities, 
hospitals,  charitable  institutions,  military  companies,  hotels,  banks,  city  audi- 
torium, theaters,  fire  department,  electric  street  car  system,  city  hall  and 
market,  etc.,  etc. 

We  have  mentioned  here  a  few  of  the  things  in  which  the  people  of  the 
county  take  pride.  There  are  many  others.  At  the  close  of  this  chapter  we 
are  giving  a  list  of  items  in  which  Buncombe  leads  the  other  counties.  Some 
of  these  have  not  been  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  discussion  but  they  are 
none  the  less  important. 

Where  Buncombe  Leads 

The  figures  at  the  left  margin  indicate  the  number  of  counties  making  a 
better  showing. 

1st  in  dairy  products,  value,  1919 $744,901 

1st  in  milk  sold  in  1919,  gallons 1,100,022 

2nd  in  total  value  of  dairy  cattle  in  1919 $633,317 

2nd  in  total  value  of  cattle  in  1919 $942,885 

3rd  in  total  value  of  beef  cattle,  1919 $279,568 

18th  in  value  of  domestic  animals,  1919 $1,778,063 

3rd  in  hay  and  forage  production,  1919,  tons 20,009 

Mecklenburg  led  with  a  production  of  26,208  tons; 
state  production,  688,843  tons. 


86  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

1st    in  investment  in  white  rural  school  property,  1918-1919 $449,950 

2nd  in  per  capita  investment  in  school  property,  1920 $22 

2nd  in  total  revenue  from  local  rural  district  taxes,  1918-1919 $40,266 

4th  in  per  capita  expenditures  for  schools  in  1921-22     $16.46 

4th  in  amount  spent  on  rural  buildings  and  supplies,  1918-1919  $29,884 

6th  in  total  taxable  vi^ealth  in  1920 $86,246,280 

Total  taxable  w^ealth  in  1923 $110,301,836 

5th  in  population,   1920 64,148 

Mecklenburg  leads  with  80,695  people. 

8th  in  increase  in  population,  1910-1920,  percent 28.8 

9th  in  population  living  in  towns,  1920,  percent 47 

11th  in  density  of  rural  population,  number  of  people  per  square 

mile,    1920  53.2 

1st  in  literacy,  white  and  black,  above  ten  years  of  age,  percent 

illiterate   6.4 

Buncombe  ranks  best  in  North  Carolina.     Edgecombe 

leads  in   illiteracy  with  22.4  percent.     State  average 

in  1920  was  13.1  percent. 

7th  in  native  white  literacy,  1920,  percent  illiterate 4.8 

2nd  in   negro   male   literacy,    10   years   of   age   or   over,    1920, 

percent  illiterate  15.5 

8th  in  adult  white  literacy,  1920,  percent  illiterate 6.6 

9th  in  adult  white  female  literacy,  1920,  percent  illiterate 5.9 

Sources  of  Information : 
Foregoing  chapters. 


XII 


BUNCOMBE'S  PROBLEMS  AND  THEIR 
SOLUTION 


A.  M.  MOSER,  Swannanoa 

We  now  come  to  the  discussion  of  some  of  our  problems  and  their  solu- 
tion. I  wish  to  mention  only  those  whose  solution  seems  most  pressing  at 
this  time. 

Agriculture 
First,  we  must  work  out  a  better  system  of  agriculture,  a  system  adapted 
to  our  soil  and  climate.  It  must  be  a  system  of  diversified  farming.  The 
farmer  must  become  self-sustaining.  In  order  to  make  a  happy  contented 
living,  the  farmer  must  produce  on  his  own  farm  practically  everything  he 
needs.  There  is  no  reason  why  he  cannot  do  this.  We  can  produce  on  our 
farms  practically  everything  needed  for  subsistence,  such  as  corn,  Irish 
potatoes,  apples  and  other  fruits,  cabbage,  oats,  hay,  rye,  butter,  cheese,  milk, 
pork,  honey,  etc. 

The  people  of  this  section  are  just  beginning  to  realize  the  opportunities 
and  possibilities  which  this  county  offers  in  the  vegetable  and  trucking 
industry.  The  field  is  unlimited  for  those  who  know  how  and  who  are  willing 
to  put  forth  the  proper  effort. 

In  order  for  farming  to  be  successful  the  farmer  must  produce  some 
good  standard  money  crop,  so  that  he  may  have  an  income  with  which  to 
purchase  those  necessities  which  cannot  be  produced  on  the  farms,  such  as 
certain  household  necessities,  farm  tools,  and  so  on. 

Since  this  section  is  especially  adapted  to  the  production  of  vegetables 
and  fruits,  probably  the  most  promising  money  crops  at  present  along  this 
line  would  be  Irish  potatoes,  cabbage,  or  apples.  A  good  money  crop  must 
be  of  such  character  that  it  can  be  depended  upon  from  year  to  year,  and 
that  it  can  be  shipped  without  injury  to  other  sections  of  the  country.  We 
have  learned  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  depend  entirely  on  home  markets.  We 
have  learned  too  that  in  order  to  produce  a  money  crop  there  must  be 
standardization.  That  is,  if  we  expect  to  make  a  money  crop  of  potatoes, 
cabbage,  or  apples,  there  must  be  uniformity  in  size  and  quality  of  the  crop 
to  be  marketed.  This  would  not  be  difficult  in  the  producticn  of  these  crops. 
This  section  is  especially  adapted  to  the  growing  of  apples,,  for  which  it  is 
already  famous. 

There  is  also  a  good  opportunity  for  a  money  crop  in  the  live  stock 
industry,  especially  in  the  production  of  butter  and  cheese  as  we  shall  point 
out  later.     Also  there  is  an  opportunity  in  sheep  raising. 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  89 

We  are  well  situated  for  the  raising  of  strawberries  and  other  small 
fruits,  and  could  operate  canning  establishments  to  great  advantage. 

Agricultural  Cooperation 

The  second  great  need  in  Buncombe  county  and  the  mountain  section 
generally  is  more  cooperative  enterprises  and  industries,  such  as  farmers' 
cooperative  marketing  and  buying  associations;  cooperative  cheese  factories, 
cooperative  creameries,  and  so  on.  It  is  astonishing  what  people  can  accom- 
plish who  work  together  as  do  the  sweet  potato  growers  of  Catawba  county, 
the  California  and  Oregon  fruit  growers,  and  the  people  of  Denmark  and 
Sweden. 

Third  is  the  development  of  our  water  power.  We  have  such  abundant 
water  supply  that  every  community  could  have  its  own  power  plant.  Every 
home  throughout  this  entire  section  could  have  electric  lights  in  the  home, 
and  also  power  to  run  the  machinery  about  the  house  and  barn.  But  here 
again,  in  order  to  develop  this  great  resource,  cooperation  and  community 
spirit  are  needed,  along  with  strong  leadership. 

Fourth  is  the  problem  of  securing  more  and  better  roads  and  transporta- 
tion facilities.  While  Buncombe  leads  in  good  roads,  there  is  still  much 
room  and  necessity  for  building  more.  Many  communities  are  still  behind  in 
development  and  progress  for  lack  of  proper  transportation  facilities.  Every 
community  ought  to  have  good  roads  leading  into  the  main  highways  and  to 
the  railroads.  The  people  in  order  to  make  any  great  progress  must  keep  in 
touch  with  other  sections  and  with  the  outside  world. 

Education 

Fifth  is  the  problem  of  education — of  school  consolidation,  of  relating 
our  schools  and  education  to  the  particular  needs  and  problems  of  this  section. 
In  fact  I  believe  that  the  solution  of  practically  all  our  problems  lies  in  the 
matter  of  education.  So  important  is  this  question  that  I  am  dwelling  on  it 
at  some  length. 

As  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  schools  of  Buncombe  have 
been  making  good  progress  in  material  matters.  But  the  question  arises,  are 
the  teachers  instilling  into  the  children  a  love  for  their  native  hills  and 
valleys;  are  they  teaching  tliem  to  appreciate  the  great  free  life  which  they 
can  lead  here  in  the  shadow  of  the  lofty  mountains;  are  they  teaching  them 
to  solve  the  problems  which  they  must  face  as  the  years  come  and  go  ? 

We  need  in  the  rural  schools  of  this  county  country-minded  teachers, 
teachers  whose  minds  are  in  tune  with  country  life,  who  are  interested  in 
rural  life  problems,  and  who  have  a  definite  understanding  of  how  they  may 
be  solved.  Are  our  country  teachers  interested  in  country  life?  Do  they 
teach  because  they  love  the  country  and  its  folks?  Do  they  love  the  balmy 
air  of  these  heights  so  well,  are  they  concerned  for  the  progress  of  our  com- 
munities so  much,  that  they  are  willing  to  give  real  study  to  our  problems? 
Or  are  they  transitory,  migratory  creatures  who  teach  for  a  season  and  dis- 


90  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

appear;  who  move  from  school  to  school  and  from  county  to  county?  The 
grasshopper  teacher  is  a  hindrance  to  rural  school  development.  But  his 
frequent  moves  are  not  always  the  teacher's  fault — he  usually  moves  for  better 
pay.  To  get  good  teachers  the  schools  must  pay  enough  to  hold  them  from 
year  to  year. 

We  need  teachers  and  leaders  who  will  help  to  form  cooperative  market- 
ing associations,  so  that  we  can  market  our  apples  and  any  other  surplus 
produce.  Four  million  bushels  of  apples  rotted  in  the  mountains  of  North 
Carolina  two  years  ago  because  we  had  no  method  of  getting  them  to  market. 
In  Eastern  North  Carolina  we  paid  ten  cents  each  for  apples  from  the  states 
of  Washington,  Oregon,  and  elsewhere,  when  four  million  bushels  were  rotting 
in  Western  North  Carolina.  We  need  teachers  who  can  help  to  develop 
cooperative  creameries  and  cheese  factories, — who  will  teach  the  children  and 
the  people  that  these  things  can  be  done ;  that  to  do  them  leaders  are  wanted, 
and  people  with  initiative.  This  section  of  the  state  can  become  a  veritable 
paradise  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  hay  and  forage,  live  stock  and  live  stock 
products,  and  the  farmers  could  become  the  most  prosperous  in  the  state  and 
in  the  South  if  only  they  would  organize  and  work  together  for  productive 
purposes  and  marketing  advantages.  Teachers  who  can  enable  us  to  solve 
these  problems  will  be  worth  their  weight  in  gold. 

Home  Comforts  and  Conveniences 
The  country  regions  of  this  county  are  being  depleted  in  population. 
The  rural  population  in  Buncombe  county  has  not  increased  since  the  census 
year  1910.  The  rural  school  population  for  this  county  has  decreased  during 
the  last  eight  years,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  table  elsewhere  in  this  bulletin. 
This  is  because  city  life  is  more  attractive,  satisfying,  and  wholesome  than 
our  country  life  as  now  developed.  City  comforts  and  conveniences  have 
lured  the  young  people  out  of  the  country  regions.  Many  of  the  boys  and 
girls  now  living  in  the  rural  regions  will  more  than  likely  become  city 
dwellers  because  of  the  home  comforts  of  city  life. 

Here  in  the  mountains,  right  here  in  Buncombe  county,  thousands  of 
horse-power  of  electricity  are  going  to  waste,  because  we  have  not  harnsesed 
the  streams  to  do  our  work  and  to  light  our  homes.  There  is  enough  water 
power  here  to  do  all  our  stationary  farm  work  and  to  light  our  homes.  We 
could  light  up  literally  this  whole  mountain  area  if  we  could  harness  our 
streams,  little  and  big.  Every  farm  in  this  county  could  have  electric  power, 
and  every  farm  home  could  be  brilliantly  lighted  with  electric  lights,  with 
only  a  little  effort  on  the  part  of  the  people  working  togeher.  But  one  man 
can  do  little  by  himself — there  must  be  concerted  action  by  all  the  people  of 
the  community  or  section. 

If  ad\'antage  were  taken  of  the  mountain  streams,  better  comforts  and 
conveniences  could  be  had,  and  at  far  less  cost,  than  are  to  be  found  in  the 
luxurious    city    homes    which    allure    our    country   youth.      Making    country 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  91 

life  attractive  will  result  in  retaining  on  the  farms  and  in  the  great  out-of- 
doors,  boys  and  girls  who  otherwise  will  seek  the  city. 

At  a  recent  state  fair,  there  was  exhibited  a  model  of  a  cemetery  that 
attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention.  On  the  tombstones,  the  thousands  of 
visitors  did  not  see  the  ordinary  inscriptions  such  as  "Too  Pure  for  Earth." 
This  cemetery  was  designed  to  show  the  inconveniences  of  country  life. 
On  the  tombstones  were  inscribed  such  epitaphs  as,  "Mother — -walked  herself 
to  death  in  her  kitchen."  "Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Jane — she  scrubbed 
herself  into  eternity."  "Grandma — she  washed  herself  away."  "Stisie — 
swept  out  of  life  with  too  heavy  a  broom." 

It  is  only  too  true  that  the  country  homes  are  not  provided  with  the 
possible  comforts  and  conveniences.  Electric  power  and  light  would  soon 
enable  us  to  have  the  things  to  get  which  the  country  people  now  go  to  the 
cities. 

Community  Virtues 

This  county  has  possibilities  of  development  so  great  that  few  of  its 
citizens  can  fully  appreciate  them.  We  have  abundant  natural  resources, 
in  our  soils,  seasons,  climate,  water  power,  streams,  beautiful  mountain  scenery, 
mineral  resources;  all  that  nature  can  provide  has  been  heaped  upon  this 
section.  But  to  a  large  extent  these  advantages  have  as  yet  remained  largely 
undeveloped. 

A  well-developed  community  life  as  we  conceive  it  is  based  on  six 
fundamental  community  or  cooperative  virtues;  for  a  community  is  nothing 
but  a  group  of  human  cooperatives,  each  working  for  all  and  all  for  each. 
These  community  virtues  are: 

1.  Faith.  Do  you  have  faith  in  your  fellow  man?  Does  he  have  faith 
in  you?  Do  you  trust  your  leaders?  Do  you  even  have  faith  in  yourself? 
No  community  can  ever  develop  without  this  first  essential — faith.  The 
business  of  the  world  is  done  on  faith.  It  is  estimated  that  ninety-five  percent 
of  the  world's  business  is  done  on  credit.  When  this  faith  is  broken  or  dis- 
turbed world  markets  collapse  and  financial  panics  bring  on  unspeakable 
hardships.  Banks  fail  and  business  ceases.  Community  development  is 
based  on  faith  just  as  surely  as  is  the  world  of  business.  Prices  are  affected 
now  because  we  have  little  faith  in  Europe  or  her  ability  to  pay  for  goods 
bought  on  credit. 

2.  Integrity.  Integrity  means  wholesomeness,  truthfulness,  honesty. 
It  means  honesty  beyond  suspicion.  It  means  honesty  and  truthfulness  not 
only  with  others  but  with  ourselves.  No  individual  who  lacks  integrity  can 
succeed;  nor  can  a  community  which  lacks  integrity  succeed,  for  a  com- 
munity is  only  a  group  of  individuals  working  for  the  common  good. 

3.  Sagacity.  Sagacity  and  sense  are  not  at  all  identical  with  intelli- 
gence. The  world  has  many  intelligent  people,  people  who  have  acquired 
great  knowledge,  who  are  storehouses  of  information,  who  have  acquired 
knowledge  for  personal  gratification;  but  the  country  is  lacking  in  minds 
that  are  sagacious,  minds  that  are  overflowing  with  sense.    We  often  call  this 


Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social  93 

sagacity  horse  sense,  judgment,  the  ability  to  think  straight  and  to  arrive  at 
wise,  sensible  conclusions. 

Education  that  is  given  or  acquired  for  the  purpose  of  personal  adorn- 
ment, to  enable  one  to  strut  about  with  a  feeling  of  superiority  over  one's 
neighbors,  has  no  place  in  any  community.  The  kind  of  education  we  need 
is  that  which  makes  us  sagacious,  wise,  sensible;  the  kind  that  links  us  up 
helpfully  with  our  community,  that  makes  us  more  capable  of  serving  our 
fellow  man.  The  Bible  says,  Get  wisdom,  but  with  all  thy  getting  get 
understanding. 

4.  Obedience.  By  obedience  I  mean  willing  submission  to  righteous 
authority.  A  community  must  be  made  up  of  leaders  and  followers.  All 
cannot  be  leaders.  Some  of  us  have  to  follow  and  good  followers  are  as 
necessary  as  good  leaders.  Without  good  followers  proper  community  develop- 
ment is  impossible.  In  most  communities  everybody  wants  to  have  a  hand  in 
running  things.  Each  one  thinks  he  knows  more  about  everything  4;han 
anybody  else.  This  is  sheer  individualism,  which  always  causes  strife  and 
discontent,  and  prevents  community  organization. 

A  democracy  is  based  on  obedience  to  recognized  authority,  and  so  with 
a  community.  Every  locality  has  its  portion  of  good  leaders.  We  have  them 
in  Buncombe  and  North  Carolina.  But  do  we  have  enough  loyal  followers? 
Each  citizen  must  be  willing  to  subordinate  himself  to  able  leadership  and 
authority  or  there  can  never  be  developed  a  social  organism,  a  powerful, 
progressive  community  life. 

5.  Loyalty.  Loyalty  means  standing  by  your  word,  your  folks,  your 
friends,  your  community,  your  county,  or  anything  to  which  you  owe  alle- 
giance or  to  which  you  have  pledged  your  support.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
traits  in  the  world.  Family  life  is  based  on  loyalty.  The  state  is  founded 
on  loyal  supporters.  So  it  is  with  a  community.  Each  must  be  loyal  to  its 
undertakings.  Suppose  you  try  to  form  a  cooperative  apple  marketing  asso- 
ciation and  you  pledge  your  support  to  it.  Along  comes  an  outsider  whose 
purpose  is  to  break  up  the  organization.  He  offers  you  a  few  cents  more 
per  bushel  for  apples,  and  you  break  your  contract  and  sell  to  him.  You 
have  then  been  disloyal  to  your  word  and  to  the  association  and  its  chance 
to  solve  your  marketing  problem  has  been  destroyed.  Loyalty  through  thick 
and  thin  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  development  of  a  wholesome  com- 
munity. 

6.  Courage.  I  am  speaking  now  of  moral  courage.  It  is  moral  courage 
that  we  need  most,  the  courage  to  stick  by  one's  honest  convictions.  The 
most  wonderful  characters  in  all  history  have  been  those  men  and  women 
who  have  had  the  courage  to  stick  by  their  convictions  when  all  the  world 
seemed  against  them.  A  community  whose  citizens  are  courageous  in  this 
sense  will  win  in  the  end. 

We  should  do  all  in  our  power  to  develop  and  preserve  these  community 
virtues.  We  must  not  let  people  divide  our  community  spirit.  Petty 
jealousies,    malicious    gossip,    lack   of   vision,    social    and   civic   indifference, 


94  Buncombe  County:   Economic  and  Social 

ignorance,  and  lack  of  initiative  will  destroy  community  spirit  and  impede 
county  progress.  We  must  develop  social-mindedness  in  place  of  private- 
mindedness. 

The  ills  I  have  thus  outlined  are  some  of  our  ills,  and  the  remedies  I 
have  suggested  are  all  possible  and  practical. 

As  citizens  of  this  county  we  must  set  about  solving  our  problems,  so 
as  to  retain  the  men  and  women  v/ho  are  constantly  moving  off  the  farms  of 
Buncombe  county.  The  boys  and  girls  of  this  region  have  been  brought  up 
in  one  of  choicest  areas  of  the  globe.  These  rich  vallevs  and  fertile  areas 
are  lands  whose  marvelous  opportunities  and  resources  have  as  yet  barely 
been  touched.  There  is  a  man-sized  job  for  each  of  us  right  here  in  our  own 
county.  It  is  not  necessary  for  the  boys  and  girls  to  move  out  of  Buncombe 
to  succeed.  Those  who  move  to  the  towns  and  cities  or  leave  the  county  are 
in  many  cases  those  whom  the  county  needs  the  most.  It  needs  educated 
people,  leaders.  If  those  who  are  growing  up  into  life  will  look  about  them, 
they  will  see  their  chance  for  success,  for  leadership,  for  public  service  right 
here  in  their  own  county  and  communities.  Our  boys  and  girls  should  seek 
higher  education  and  return  here  to  use  it  in  working  out  their  own  destiny 
and  the  destinies  of  their  kith  and  kin,  their  communities,  their  county  and 
their  state. 

This  land  of  ours  is  richly  endowed  by  nature  and  abounds  in  wonderful 
possibilities.  It  is  rich  in  beauty  and  wealth.  Let  us  drive  our  tent  pegs 
down  deep  right  here  in  Buncombe  county  and  make  it  not  only  the  leader  in 
schools,  good  roads,  and  beauty,  but  in  everything;  let  us  establish  a  shining 
example  for  all  the  rest,  here  in  "Opportunity's  Empire,  the  Land  of  the  Sky." 

Sources  of  Information: 

Foregoing  chapters. 


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